Spy Game
by neoolong
Summary: Away for a year, Xander comes into his own. And finds out just what it takes to save the world when the forces of evil come knocking.
1. Prologue

Title: Spy Game

Author: neoolong

Rating: T

Summary: Away for a year, Xander comes into his own. And finds out just what it takes to save the world when the forces of evil come knocking.

Disclaimer: Standard lack of ownership for anything that anybody else owns. No profit made and all that.

**Prologue: The Hunter Who Came in From the Heat**

One year later...

Wax Market, Lagos, Nigeria

Xander sat. And waited. A few years ago he would have been bouncing in nervous energy from the waiting and the heat. A year in the jungles and deserts of Africa and beyond had calmed him. And changed him in ways even he was still trying to figure out. Looking around at the mass of people in the crowded marketplace from his open air table, Xander saw who he was waiting for. Mr. Barnes.

Xander never did figure out what the man's first name was. Not that it really mattered since even Barnes was most likely a fake. He watched as his contact approached and sat down; wondering as he often did how such an overweight and unkempt man as Mr. Barnes could keep from sweating in such a place.

As the man sat down and ordered a drink from the waitress who had walked up, Xander slipped his hand under the table to rest on the handgun he had hidden there. While they shared a steady working relationship, though petering out now, Xander knew he couldn't really trust the man in front of him. Barnes was assigned to him after all. Not part of the organization. Him being here now was a statement.

Xander knew his position was secure. The organization he truly represented had proven itself. No. The message wasn't about him at all. It was about the slayers. The Company wasn't apt to let a bunch of supersoldiers out of its grasp. Intellience focused as it may be, the Company never gave up an opportunity for an advantage. The higherups in the agency must have been pretty peeved that the slayers had been declared assets of the newly developed Level 6. It had been one of the terms of his employ. But, things in the E-ring changed quickly. No matter how many good men wanted it different.

"Bad times, Mr. Harris. Bad times." Barnes took a drink after the waitress had walked away. Pulling a large white envelope from his pocket, he looked at Xander with an unhappy expression. "Eight months ago, you came to me. And we made a deal."

Barnes had been his first contact. He'd moved up in the world while Barnes had stayed in the hot zone. Xander just visited sometimes. Not something that would make Barnes particularly friendly to him. They didn't have to pretend anymore.

Xander took the envelope and spread the contents on the table with one hand. They were pictures. Stills from a video taken from some battle site in some forest he didn't recognize. What he did recognize however, was the mess that it was. Burnt corpses and burnt tents were spread in a clearing. He could see crossbow bolts, swords, and axes strewn across the ground. Primitive weaponry in the eyes of most.

The last two photos were what brought him up short. A corpse, not completely burned, allowed him to recognize who or rather what the inhabitants of the small village had been. Xander shot a questioning look towards Mr. Barnes.

"Kwaini." Barnes answered Xander's unspoken question, though he knew that the youger associate of the Watchers' Council, amongst of affiliations, already knew that.

"Since you're coming to me with this, I assume that slayers are responsible?" Xander asked, not liking where the situation was going. The species meant that the weapons on the ground didn't belong to the inhabitants. And it wasn't like that many hunters still ran aroud with swords and crossbows.

"Yes. These were taken in the Black Forest two days ago. A day before that, German airport security video reveals the arrival of 10 young girls originally departing from Cleveland. Or rather, revealed." Barnes gulped down his drink and ordered another.

"I know you. You don't really care that these were Kwaini or that some tribe of demons just got wiped out. So why come to me?" Xander asked, beginning to see where this was leading.

"We're both of us professionals. This however, was not. We provide you with the immunity and discretion you need to carry on your activities at home and abroad. And you do your job under the radar. That was the agreement, Mr. Harris. Level 6 can only protect you so far." Barnes grabbed the photos from the table tossed them into a pile with disgust. "And, before you ask, there was no evidence of drug use. Your former associate in LA saw to the end of that nonsense."

"So, the Germans are complaining about what happened?" In truth, Xander didn't really care about the politics of the massacre. He was more concerned that a group of slayers, apparently with approval from the reformed Watchers' Council, had wiped out a settlement of balance demons.

"So far, they don't know exactly what happened. Or who was responsible. Department C is in an uproar about a mass demon attack that they didn't see coming. And they're going to eventually ask "us" to help look into things." Barnes explained.

"And you want me to turn on my friends?" Xander retorted.

"I've been keeping count. You found all of two slayers in the entire continent. This isn't exactly an assignment that shows how valuable you are to the Council's operations." Barnes replied.

"That's not enough, you know." Xander sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

Despite his rather lowly position, Xander still cared about the slayers and didn't want to think about what would happen if the Company turned its attention onto them. Barnes had him. To a point.

"The boys upstairs are clear. This can't happen again. We can't keep protecting your people if they can't be discrete. The Kwaini that your rather ill-informed friends decided to exterminate were granted honorary human status and German citizenship. Their government is dropping terms, like "act of war" and "crime against humanity." Congratulations, your friends just committed genocide." Barnes stood up indicating that the meeting was coming to a close. "You need to get your house in order. Or we'll do it for you." Barnes dropped a plane ticket onto the table, and started to walk away.

Xander watched the man's retreating form as he pulled the ticket to Cleveland towards him.

Once the Company man had walked out of view, the tourist at the next table stood up and took the now abandoned seat. His name was Curtis Myers. 10 years in the Baltimore office of the FBI before he had been "asked" to retire for asking the wrong questions. Bad times led to good ones. Meyers had answers now. No more depression. No more suicidal thoughts. And a steady paycheck that kept his kids in private school and his wife able to pay the bills.

"What now?" Special Agent Myers said. They were all special agents now. Though the field teams were considered "operators." He was a good shot. And a better investigator. A decade in the Violent Crimes division until he came across the Case. The end of one job. The start of another. Same goal though. He was in country for their job in Nigeria and made for a good backup man.

Xander looked at his second in command and then down at the pile of photos.

"Now, I go home."


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter 1: Return of the Prodigal**

The House, Cleveland, USA

Xander walked into the rather large house. It served as Batcave and Watchtower. Hearth and barracks. The residents referred to it as The House. Though it was almost a mansion really. Lakewood had its mix of housing types, and they'd gotten one of the better ones. With so many girls living there, and needing to be trained, they needed the space. The large house was set on a 3 acre plot, surrounded by a high fence. The better for the slayers to train without prying eyes wondering how little girls could do so much. A little less than a year since he had been gone, and not much had changed. The large central hall he walked into was still a bit disheveled, and the living room he could see off to his right was still a mess. A bunch of teenagers weren't the most careful with a house, teenagers with super strength and energy to match, even less so.

In his mind, Xander went through the last time he had been there. After the weight of what had happened in Sunnydale had settled in, he had been able to think about the things that he had done. And the things that he had allowed to happen. His last meeting with the last of the Scoobies had not gone well. They ended up going their own separate ways. Willow to South America, the Himalayas, and then back to Brazil. Buffy to Europe, settling in Rome. And him to Africa, and then on something of a world tour. At the time, escape was a blessing. Now, he thought, maybe he should never have left.

"Xander!" a voice shouted, breaking him out of his introspection.

His thoughts interrupted, he looked at the source of the voice. Running down the curved staircase leading to the hall, a young brunette nearly flew down and wrapped her arms around him.

"Dawn. How are you?" Xander replied, hugging her back. To Xander, Dawn was one of the few to come out of Sunnydale untouched.

"Great. Came to visit Giles over break." Dawn pulled back and took a good look at what a year away had done to and for Xander. "You look great. All tanned and fit. Real sexy."

Xander grinned. One of the first real ones in a long time. Even better, Dawn returned it.

"I'd love to talk Dawnie, but I really need to talk to Giles. Know where he is?" Xander walked to the stairs, headed towards the office upstairs. He dropped his shoulder bag on the cabinet set against the hallway as he headed on up. He rarely went anywhere without it anymore. A safety blanket. Batman's uility belt. A bag of holding. Indiana Jones' gas mask bag. He had his own now. It was locked and not even the eager slayers would try to jimmy it open not knowing what was inside. He knew it would be safe. Besides, he'd had to empty out most of it for his trip here. Wouldn't do for any of Council to see some of his more esoteric possessions.

"Yeah, he's in his office. Let's go find him." Dawn called after him.

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Rupert Giles, now head of the newly re-formed Watcher's Council, had done well for himself in the last year. From being a lowly field watcher, to fired, to field watcher, to head of the organization, he was content with his lot in life. Fighting the good fight and all that. Though he didn't go into the field much anymore.

His office was very organized. Filing cabinets and bookshelves lined all four of the walls. Only a couple of large bay windows on the far wall were clear. A heavy oak desk was situated near the middle of the room facing the only door. So many books, befitting a former librarian Xander supposed. Spellbooks, grimories, histories, and ancient texts. A lot of knowledge accumulated in the last year or so. It hadn't been half as large the last time he had been there.

Giles was sitting at his desk, head and mind buried in an old leatherbound book as Xander walked in.

"We need to talk." Xander stated without preamble.

Giles glanced up.

"Well, hello to you to." He looked at Xander with a perturbed look. "What can I do for you?"

"Something's gone down. Something bad." Xander said ignoring Giles' attempt at nicety.

"Alone." Xander continued, without needing to look at Dawn.

"Hey, I want to hear to." Dawn interjected.

"No." Xander looked at her. "Please. It'd be better if you don't." Despite all that had happened, Dawn had been able to keep a relatively stable balance between the supernatural and the normal world. Training and schooling in something of an equal harmony. And he'd be damned if he upset that balance.

"I'm not a little kid anymore. I have a right to know." Dawn complained.

"She's right. She's as much a part of this as any of us." Giles sat back, comfortable in his position as head. He spoke, people listened.

After the fall of Sunnydale, Dawn had traveled with the people that were left. Learning and contributing. Once Buffy decided to cut out and stay in Italy, Dawn went and stayed there as well. They were family after all. She was adapting well and seemed to love the life of an American in Europe. At least, that's what the reports said. Xander could see that Dawn wanted to stay involved. Growing up in Sunnydale, he supposed that anybody would want to keep her hand in once the truth was let out.

Xander pulled out two of the pictures he had been given and laid them onto the desk. Massacred demons on the ground. Burnt corpses. Some reaching for their equally burnt children. Hardly things one showed in civilized company. He watched as Giles and Dawn took in what lay before them. He noted that Giles had no reaction, while Dawn looked horrified.

"What's this from?" Giles asked, though it was pretty apparent that hey had a pretty good idea. He looked Xander literally in the eye.

"I think you know. I think maybe you sent them there." Xander met the stare.

"We had word of a tribe of demons in Germany. We sent a team in to take care of them." Giles stated as if that settled the matter. After all, it was his job, and he hardly had to explain his actions.

"Take care of them?" Xander asked incredulously. "You sent a team in to slaughter them."

"What's the issue? The demons are dead are they not?" Giles was starting to get defensive. He had had enough questioning of his abilities fro the old Council. While he had come to accept and even embrace the unconventional nature of his slayer, he had always felt somewhat patronized by the more straightlaced and noble members. He wasn't about to let one of his younger charges, let alone someone that wasn't even a watcher, start now. Even if it was one of the original group.

"These were taken by a group of ethno-demonologists, affiliated with the German government. And now that the Germans know, they're looking for the people that murdered a village of German citizens." Xander said, looking down at his former mentor.

"What?" The older man sputtered.

Dawn looked like she was about to be ill. "That can't be right. We wouldn't do that."

"You wouldn't do that Dawn." Xander said, looking her in the eyes. "The slayers under the new Watchers' Council on the other hand…"

"Now wait just a minute." Giles said, trying to defend himself.

"No. You wait." Xander broke in, cutting him off. "The slayers you sent to Germany were found out. They murdered a bunch of Kwaini, and didn't get away with it."

"Kwaini? All right, they weren't what I thought they were, but it wasn't murder. They were only demons after all." Giles stated. While he may not have a severe hatred of demons as some hunters, when it came down to it, the watcher did not really care much for them. He may have tolerated their use in battle, but his experiences with Angel turned Angelus and Spike had left him cold to the possibility that some might deserve to be cared about.

"Demons that had German citizenship." Xander said coldly. "You sent a bunch of girls to commit genocide. And now their government wants answers. And so do I."

Giles visibly blanched at that.

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Author's note: Mainly setting the stage for now. There'll be some actual action later. Chapters also get longer as the chapters progress. Thanks to SFBKludge for the thing about acreage. I changed it.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter 2: FUBAR**

"Some of the people we sent to Europe to look for new slayers received word of a tribe of demons encamped in the Black Forest. It was supposed to be a small encampment of Miquots. I decided to send in some of the slayers to take care of them as a training exercise." Giles reported. "The demons were all killed as planned."

"Was getting caught part of your plan?" Xander responded. Even if the demons had been hostile, it was still a poorly executed mission. Secret organizations were supposed to work in secret. That was the point of being secret.

Giles looked away at the comment. "We weren't expecting anybody to be watching."

The Council had been used to working with impunity. From being able to send in a wetworks team with helicopter support to LA without anybody asking questions, to kidnapping US citizens, the watchers had become used to doing whatever they wanted. Apparently the attitude hadn't changed much even after most of them were killed.

"Right, because no government has ever monitored or defended itself from demons." Xander retorted. "It's not like the Watchers were supported by the British government, or we never worked with the Initiative." He felt rather than heard the sarcasm come up. He knew he used it and goofy humor as defense mechanisms. He didn't like it, but he understood where it came from.

Giles rankled at that remark. Despite the years they had fought together, he still felt the time between them. Teacher and student. Leader and follower. Whatever the words, the relationship was established. At least it was to his mind.

He sighed. "Then it was a mistake." Giles started to feel that there was something he didn't know. Something had happened to the annoying boy he had met 8 years ago. And he wasn't sure he liked the result.

"The Germans didn't identify the slayers. If they had then you would have said so. So what's the concern now?"

"The concern is that they'll keep digging. The concern is that they won't stop until they find someone to blame. The concern is that they'll find slayers and watchers operating on their soil without invitation." Xander said. "The concern is that they'll want blood."

Xander pulled out the rest of the photos he had been given. Cleaned up shots in black and white showing ten young girls of various races talking as they walked through an airport concourse. He laid them slowly on the table. One after another.

The former watcher and the former key looked at the shots as they were set down. They could easily identify who they were. Most of them were pretty new. Though, some like Rona and Caridad had been at Sunnydale. Or "The Stand" as a number of the newer members of the fold called it. That was enough to classify them as "senior" slayers.

"They used their real names. They used their real passports." Xander ticked off a number of the tactical mistakes that the slayers had used. In truth, he had made similar mistakes. Mistakes that had gotten people killed. But, he had learned. A crucible in Africa had left him with a better understanding of how things needed to be done.

"But, nobody knows right?" Dawn asked hopefully.

Xander relaxed his expression and turned to her. "The videos that show them arrive and depart have been edited to remove any shots of them. And the records for their identities in the airline databases have been altered." Dawn looked visibly shocked at that bit of news. And Giles looked at him with a questioning look.

"You didn't think I spent a year in Africa chasing after sand dunes did you?" Xander said with a smirk. "It's all covered up. Nobody knows anything, and efforts have been made that point to The Scourge."

Xander knew he was tipping his hand a bit too much. The resources that such actions entailed were much greater than most people would realize, even those in the know like Giles and Dawn. They would undoubtedly suspect he had assets that he did not share. But, it was better that people start seeing him as a cipher and therefore unpredictable, than the wise-cracking supporto guy he had been in the past. Much better chance of being taken seriously.

"My word. How did you accomplish that?" Giles asked, wondering exactly what was left unsaid in all the field reports Xander had sent him from Africa.

"Money buys you a lot of friends." Xander replied. His face regained its previous hard expression. "You need to get your act together. People start finding out what we're doing, and they're going to start looking for us. And I don't think it's to give us a pat on the back."

"Quite right. We'll have to institute policies to be more careful." Giles said, thinking the grilling was over. "Good job."

"And there's the fact that they were Kwaini." Xander continued, clearly not done yet. He wasn't the biggest supporter of civil rights for demons given his past history. But, he had learned that no group is ever completely consistent. The term "demon" covered a lot of territory. "Who exactly gave you the information on them?"

"Well, Andrew was the one who told us. He said that he had received word from one of his sources. He also lead the team in Germany. The Rome operation was the closest for watcher support and he had the most experience..." Giles looked a bit chagrined at that. He had come to view the young Wells as a sort of successor. Similar histories with dabblings in the dark side of magic in youth and the attempt to overcome that endeared the geek to the older watcher. Such sentimentality also helped blind him to the former Trio member's other shortcomings. Xander had never been cut so much slack.

"Andrew?" Xander was visibly shocked at that bit of news. The idea that someone like Andrew had attained such a position as to lead teams in the field, while he was sent to pasture looking for slayers in deserts stuck in his craw.

"He's very good you know." Dawn put in. "We put him through a lot of training and he's leading one of the best teams." She was positively gushing at this. The sight of it was turning Xander's stomach.

"Let me get this straight. You have Andrew Wells commanding a kill team?" Xander asked coldly. "Even after he lost that slayer in LA? With a dozen slayers backing him up?"

Giles looked embarrassed at Xander pointing out one of their biggest failures to date. Sometime after Andrew and company had taken custody of Dana from Angel and the firm he represented, their vans had been hit by a group of unknown assailants and Dana had been taken. Fortunately, nobody had been killed.

"We're still looking into that. You can rest assured that we'll find her." Giles said weakly. Even more dangerous than independent rogue slayers were evil ones. Pressganged into service or not, they posed a serious threat.

Xander knew that she would not be found. At least, not by the Council. He'd been initially unsure of the decision to bring in the psychotic slayer. But, when he learned that Giles and the others thought they were the best equipped to deal with her, Xander knew that he was left choiceless. The Council barely had any doctors or field medics, let alone a trained psychiatric team. It was sure foolishness to think they could possibly rehabilitate her. Xander knew that if nothing else, Level 6 would be able to keep her contained. It was the best he could hope for at this point.

In fact, Xander knew exactly what had happened in LA. A truck had broadsided the van holding half the team of slayers and Andrew forcing them and the van holding the others, including the captive slayer, to stop. Then two black vans had driven up from side streets discharging four people dressed in black. Working in pairs the first man in each shot out a window in their respective target vans while the second tossed in a stun grenade. While the slayers and their watcher were stunned, the four pulled them out of the stopped vehicles while the remaining members of their team got out of the vans to cover them. The four in the capture team then took out the gurney that the sedated slayer was strapped too and carried them both out. After that, they all just got in and drove away. The whole operation took less than three minutes.

Xander knew this because he had been briefed on it when the decision to bring Dana in was made. He knew this because Sergeant Major Scott Ryan, the commander of his beta team, had explained it all in his after action report. Of course, Giles didn't know any of that.

"Right. I'm sure you will. And the Kwaini?" Xander said, getting back on track.

"I don't know what could have gone wrong." Giles said. "Andrew is very reliable. He must have received bad information."

"And yet, without verifying the intel, the team still went in. And then they decided to carry out the raid despite Miquots looking nothing like Kwaini." Xander retorted.

"Andrew is still learning. It was a mistake perhaps, but since you made sure that nothing will come of it, it's over." Giles replied, trying to end the examination of their mistakes.

"I don't think so. This can't keep happening. You lost a slayer. You killed the wrong demons and were identified. Your field watcher knew that they had the wrong information, but they still went in anyway. I want to review the missions before they're carried out." Xander said. He supposed he was jealous that Andrew was in such a high position. He had sacrificed for the fight and he had earned his scars. It wasn't right that Andrew Wells, wannabe Evil Overlord and wannabe hero was a field watcher while he was basically a gofer. More than that, he knew that such mistakes would bring the government down on them. Level 6 would, with governmental mandate, appropriate any resources they deemed useable. While that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing and Charles Grainer, director of Level 6, was a good man and an even better leader, even he had to answer to someone. And those assets could find themselves shared amongst the agencies that had connections.

"Xander, you already have an important function within the Watcher's Council. You don't have the time to second-guess our decisions." Giles couldn't understand where Xander's antagonism was coming from. In his mind, Xander was doing well for what he was. He contributed now and again, while being kept safe. Something that the other survivors of Sunnydale had agreed upon, Xander's maiming fresh in their minds.

"It was an honest mistake. I'm sure it'll never happen again." Dawn added, trying to defend someone she clearly had a crush on. Xander didn't like that. He didn't have any interest in her that way, but with Spike and now Andrew, he felt that he definitely needed to watch out for the young woman that he had come to view as a younger sister. The bad boy thing, stretching the definition to include Andrew, was not healthy.

"Andrew is here now. He's training with some new slayers. We can discuss this together." Giles put in. This type of friction would not help things, and in a group setting Xander was less apt to be so confrontational. Or at least, he was in the past.

"Fine." Xander sighed. The day was certainly not amounting to much. And it wasn't even noon.

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Author's note: Thanks for the reviews. I try to do at least a modicum of research, but I'm not extremely rigorous. If anything turns out to be factually incorrect, I'll try to fix it. Some action next chapter, and some different interpretations of character to come. It might be a bit "character-bashing," but I'm trying to make it organic.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter 3: Laying of Hands**

Kennedy was teaching. Her success in Sunnydale and enthusiasm when it came to being a slayer made her a natural for the position. But, just because she was a natural at slaying didn't make her a good teacher. Though Chloe killing herself had mellowed her more drill sergeant-y ways.

The eyes of the entire ten slayer class were on her. Andrew, currently the only field watcher in the house, was in the corner of the training room watching as watchers do. He had an attempt at a sage look on his face, though in truth, he didn't know much about what Kennedy was saying. Sure, he got the basics of slaying for slayers, but how to actually do it was something completely different. But, appearances had to be kept.

Xander took it all in. Part of the converted basement of the House, the training room pulled extra duty as a dojo, exercise room, and classroom. Covered in fraying blue mats, it was definitely getting used. At least the slayers stayed in practice Xander thought. Kennedy was currently lecturing the class on the best ways to slay vampires. Those being the stake and decapitation, according to her. Xander watched as the newbies soaked it all in with a look of awe and excitement. He could understand why. As one of the Slayers, meaning survivor of "The Stand," she commanded instant respect.

"Vampires are weaker and slower than us." Kennedy stated with an authoritative tone. "The basic idea is to get in fast and stake them in the heart. Or cut their heads off. They may try to attack or dodge, and you have to be ready for that. We'll teach you how to move. You're faster so just be ready and you can get into the right position for the kill. Trust your instincts and you'll do fine. You're stronger. Remember that."

Kennedy was technically right thought Xander. Though at a tactical level, she was dead wrong. Vampires were weaker than slayers. For the most part. He still had a scar in his chest proving that not all vampires were sired equal. At least Kilgore was dead now. Vampires weren't supposed to be able to chuck a knife a couple of hundred yards. Apparently, nobody had let the Austrian vampire know that. Weakness of strength or speed, was not all that lost a battle. Nor was power all that won one. Eight years of fighting had taught him that. And instincts are all fine and good when you've been raised all your life for battle. Ninjas. Spartans. Jaffa. Instincts instilled in them since birth allowed their bodies to bypass the brain and conscious thought and instantly act in the best method of attack or defense. But, girls that had spent most of their lives in the suburbs had just one instinct when it came to confronting creatures of the night. Panic. And trying to just overwrite that by just telling them to would get them all killed.

"And if the vampires know Judo?" Xander tossed out. Instantly, all eyes were on him. He knew he stuck out, having been outside the fold for so long. He had been at the back of the classroom with Giles and Dawn, ignored. They were to talk with Andrew after the training session. Xander however, wanted to watch the class, and so they had stayed. What he was watching though didn't fill him with hope for the next and maybe last generation of slayers. The day was not getting better.

"Won't help them if they're dazed from our punches or kicks. Or if they can't move fast enough." Kennedy responded with a condescending grin. She was boss here and wanted to put Xander in his place. What did he know about how to fight vampires anyway, she thought.

"Those punches and kicks won't do much if they never connect." Xander stated. He didn't want to get into this. Too much confrontation and his work here would just get harder. But, saying things without thinking was another of the things he didn't like about himself. And more trouble than it was worth.

"Well, why don't you demonstrate how it should be done?" Kennedy snorted. After a year she had become one of the best slayers with the Council. After Buffy and Faith, was Kennedy. Or at least that's what Kennedy believed. Stories of her battles were passed around almost as much as Buffy and Willow's were, getting more and more embellished in the re-telling. She loved the respect she had.

"Alright." Xander walked to the front of the class turning to look down at the assembled students. It was a shock to them all. Xander, confronting a group on a subject he didn't really know anything about. Xander getting in over his head. Again.

"I don't think I should fight you. It wouldn't be fair. Maybe one of the new slayers?" Kennedy thought out loud. She was enjoying this. A little less than a year ago, they had gotten into a pretty bad fight about Willow. Putting Xander in his place would definitely be fun.

"Maybe Kara." Kennedy looked at a pretty young girl who couldn't have been more than 15. Iowa born, she had been found during one of the latter sweeps that focused on less populated parts of the country. She stood up, looking nervous, but thrilled that Kennedy had chosen her.

"No, I don't think that would be fair either." Kennedy said with a mischievous grin. She looked around as Kara sat down, a little embarrassed. Kennedy's eyes settled on Andrew. In truth, Kennedy didn't think much of the new watcher, but he had Giles' support and he didn't do that badly in the hastily thrown together Watcher Training Program.

"How about Andrew. He's one of the head field watchers." Kennedy twisted the knife a little more. Highlighting Andrew's more advanced position was definitely a low blow. Emotionally at least. Something that Xander had learned to set aside. He had come a long way from the sensitive boy he had been in high school. It wasn't that he didn't feel though. He did, more than most in fact. He just learned to ignore it until the right moments. The safe moments. It was the only he could have gotten through the things he had.

"Alright." Xander wondered what he would do. To back down now would destroy any authority he had. To win in too cruel a fashion would turn them all against him. He was fairly sure he would win the fight. While Andrew may very well have gotten better in the year or so he had to train, something in him highly doubted it. But, not wanting to be over-confident, he knew he had to be prepared for a real fight. Xander had picked up a few moves himself over his travels. LINE Combat System, some combatives and other types, all mixed with his own wild and random form. He tried to tone down the last. Xander was a brawler, but now he was more efficient and didn't get hit as much anymore. He'd come a long way since Harmony.

Andrew walked to the front of the class with a look of glee on his face. A chance to prove himself in front of a good number of the slayers. After the debacle in LA he was ecstatic to have the chance to prove once again how skilled he was. The soon-to-be-told tales of his prowess warmed his heart.

The two males stood facing each other. One watcher. One not. No pads for this. It was a simple sparring match after all. After a minute or so of stretching, they confronted each other. Andrew was in a sloppy Heisoku-dachi ready stance. Xander just standing there, feet apart, and his arms hanging freely. Xander could see that Andrew had some training in karate, though apparently not that much. He hadn't learned it that well either. Still looks could be decieving.

Kennedy had moved off to the side. She knew that while Andrew wasn't that good of a fighter, he was definitely better than Xander, whose style could only be described as, flailing.

"Begin." Kennedy said, dying to see Xander get his comeuppance.

Andrew started by throwing a punch to the left side of Xander's face. A predictable move given the blind spot. Xander shifted forward and to the right, crowding his opponent. He completed the movement and punched Andrew hard, right in the left kidney. Pain exploded in Andrew's back as he gasped in agony. Wracked with pain and left completely open Xander followed up with a knife hand to the throat. Xander was careful not to hit too hard. He didn't want to kill the guy after all.

Andrew fell to the ground clutching his throat. Xander knelt and pulled Andrew's hands away. With a knee pressing on the hurt watcher's throat, Xander looked up at Kennedy with a blank look. Clearly, the fight was over. It was simple, but effective. Brutal, without being overly cruel. It could have gotten a lot uglier.

Kennedy was shocked. This definitely wasn't the Xander that had left for Africa. He moved like somebody that could take care of himself. He moved like a fighter. She had to step things up. Kennedy looked around and her gaze settled on Mary. A slayer from New York found six months ago, Mary had a tough attitude, something that endeared her to the older slayer.

"I think Mary would be a good match for you."

Xander was not liking where this was going. Clearly Kennedy had a vendetta she wanted settled. And she didn't particularly care who got hurt in the process. He knew he had to end this quickly.

"I think it's enough." Xander said. He let up on Andrew's neck and pulled him to his feet. "I've made my point."

Xander started walking towards the back at the room, turning as he heard Kennedy speak.

"I don't think so." Kennedy wasn't willing to let him go that easily. "After all, if power really isn't that important, then I think a slayer would be a fairer test."

Xander sighed and walked back. If he wanted to be taken seriously he had to do this. But still, he didn't want to hurt anyone, his plan was to protect them. Though at least with a slayer he didn't have to be so easy on his opponent.

"Alright." Xander watched as Mary got up and noticed the wicked grin the 18 year old slayer had on her face. She was clearly one of Kennedy's followers. He knew he wasn't going to enjoy this.

Xander moved his shoulders and neck in an exaggerated manner. Looking to the rest of the class as if he was stretching, Xander was really drawing attention away from his right hand which had reached behind his back and had extracted a small extendible baton from a holder attached to his belt. Previously covered by the sweatshirt he was wearing, he was sure that nobody had seen it.

Ready, he nodded to the girl in front of him. She had a bored look on her face, revealing that she hadn't seen the movement.

"Beg-" Kennedy started. But, in the middle of the word Xander flicked his wrist, extending the baton as quick as a whip on the way back and smacked it hard against Mary's temple. It was a move that she was not prepared for. Xander continued to move, getting behind the slayer who was slightly stunned from the hard blow.

He sent a quick kick to the back of her left knee, and Mary was forced down, still reeling from the original blow. Xander flowed up with another baton strike at the back of Mary's head. Harder this time, the steel rod hit with enough force to send her completely to the ground, completely dazed. Xander continued in the half circle and kicked Mary hard in her unprotected stomach. Unconsciously, she rolled into a fetal position. Xander was disgusted at what he had done, despite knowing the necessity of it. He raised the baton yet again.

He looked at the faces looking up at him with shock and disgust. Only Monet, one of the two slayers he had found in Africa, looked at him with no reaction. Xander was especially hurt by the anguished look that Dawn sent his way.

"Done yet?" Xander looked at Kennedy with a cold expression. He lowered his arm and collapsed the baton, putting it back in its place. Kneeling down he moved to check on the girl at his feet.

"You. You cheated." Kennedy sputtered. She was the most shocked of them all at that brutal display. Xander. Normal, mundane Xander had beaten a slayer. She could hardly believe it had come from the man she had come to see as a goof and a fool. Even despite the man having sacrificed his eye when he went back for her in the vineyard.

Seeing that Mary would be alright, Xander stood up. Glaring at Kennedy, and then turning to face the class, he met their gaze with a hard expression.

"You think this a game? Treat this like a game and you'll get your ass beat. Just like she did." Xander pointed at the moaning girl at his feet. She surely was feeling the lesson.

"You want to win? You want to survive? Then you hit 'em hard. But, smart. In the right place. Right time. You box the ears. You spit in their eyes. You kick 'em in the balls. You don't let up. Ever. And when you think they're done, you fucking cut their heads off. Just to be sure." Christ, he sounded like the Punisher, he thought. Too many comic books Xander guessed. But, the point was made.

"Power will only get you so far." Xander started again with a softer tone. "You go in with that as your only weapon, and you'll just get everyone killed. You. Your sisters."

"Skill beats strength. Every time." By this point, Xander was looking at Kennedy. She still looked shocked; perhaps she was starting to understand. He knew that the class had gotten the message. Maybe some of them would even live to see 21.

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Author's note: A bit of action. More of that in Chapter 8.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter 4: Meeting of the Minds Part I**

Africa. The Dark Continent. Heart of Darkness. Maybe it wasn't the place. Maybe it was in him. Hyena. Soldierboy. Possessions. One linked to Africa. The other to war. With the hyena could have come the hunt. The power. The need to kill and feed and procreate. With the soldier could have come the engine. The need to kill to survive. To keep his comrades alive. For a cause worth killing for. But no.

There was nothing there. Nothing left. He remembered. No powers. No skills. Nothing left of whatever gifts or curses they could have given him. Nothing but memories. But there was something in him. Something Dark. Maybe so many possessions had altered his soul, his very being, without giving him anything in return. But no, there were only memories. He knew they only unlocked what was inside of him already. Memories could do that. Create. Forge. Remake what was forgotten over thousands of years of evolution. That dark reptilian part whose only concern was survival. No matter what it took.

Such a thing was no longer necessary when in the midst of civilization. Despite being on the frontlines, he knew that the Council and its slayers were not prepared for what was to come. The First was only the beginning. It had been a very long time since the Slayer had been central to the Watchers' Council. Sure, the Slayer was important. And was sent to do battle against the most immediate and/or public threats. But, the Slayer could hardly police the whole world. Wetworks teams, as had been sent to Sunnydale and LA, were the usual method of engagement for the Council. They were very effective and much more subtle. It was the reason why Buffy had been able to quit in the first place. Twice. Why Faith was not terminated in prison to call a new slayer. By the twentieth century the Slayer, quite frankly, had become obsolete. Only useful as a symbol of fear for the dark.

Slayers were good fighters. Hand to hand and ranged weapons. Persons of mass destruction. Well, moderate destruction. But even with the 1800, or rather the 500 or so in active combat, they weren't all that successful in the grand scale. Limitation of use and forethought led to that. Bad utilization. Xander had a better sense of tactics and strategy now than he had ever had. Even with Soldierboy riding shotgun. Trying to save the world with nothing but empty pockets had hammered it into his brain. He wasn't the brightest guy in the world, but he could learn fast when it counted.

Xander sat at the large wooden table that was the main piece of furniture in the conference room. Shaped like a large T, it was clear who was in charge, and who was on trial. A laptop connected to a projector sat in the middle. He sat at the end, while the head of the Council sat along the crossbar. Strength in numbers. A few slayers and watchers were scattered along the length of the table. A number of others were sitting in chairs that lined the large room. Giles sat in the middle of the bar, as the head and leader of the newly made Council. To his right sat Robin Wood and Faith Lehane. With Buffy on her sabbatical in Rome, those two were the head team. To his left sat Andrew and Willow's astral form. That was an unexpected and somewhat disturbing. That Andrew had somehow been viewed as skilled enough to serve in a leadership capacity. Even moreso was that Willow had astrally projected herself for the meeting from Brazil rather than use the secure videolink that was installed in all Council bases. A glowing Willow-form with white hair; she was beautiful. An idealized form. It was not dark magic, but spoke of flippant use of considerable power. Normally, this wasn't a problem. Cindy Wu, the resident Mr. Wizard of his own team had magicked up some faerie wine for his birthday after all. But, this was like thinking that downing a forty wasn't falling off the wagon. His day was not getting any better.

"I think we should get this meeting started." Giles stated.

He had purposefully planned it this way. Surrounded by experienced slayers and watchers, Giles was sure that Xander would back down. It was true that Xander had made some important points, ones that he would take into serious consideration. However, Xander's attitude and insistence on taking a more prominent role in the functioning of the council was the bigger issue. In the past the boy had been useful. In Sunnydale they needed all the help they could get. Now, with hundreds of slayers and the coming together of the remaining watchers from the Old Council and the training of some new ones, Giles believed that Xander, though previously valued, was no longer necessary. After all, someone that had barely passed high school could hardly be more skilled than an Oxford graduate and fully trained Watcher. Even Andrew had previous magical ability and had passed the training course that had been thrown together in the last year. It was his Council now. It had a reputation to maintain.

"Xander has raised some interesting questions about the raid that was conducted in Germany last week." Giles looked around the room, taking note of how his people reacted to his words. "Basically, the governments around the world are taking more notice of our world and do not understand how dangerous the threat is. They are protecting certain groups making it that much harder for us to do our job."

Xander was livid, though he kept it from showing. Giles was twisting things. He knew that the man he had once viewed as a role model was beginning to fall in love with his position. He knew that the watcher was not only telling enough of the truth so that Xander could not simply call him a liar, but also ensuring that any attempt to highlight the flaws in Giles' view would simply be seen as naiveté. Proof that Xander was not prepared for the work. He had to give the former librarian credit, he had learned to play the game as well as any on the Old Council. Of course, Xander hardly played by the rules any longer.

Xander watched as the head of the Council went on. He noted how Andrew switched from looking at Giles like a faithful puppy and glaring at him with a mix of anger and fear. Dawn was fretting over Andrew while glaring at him like it was his fault that Andrew didn't know how to fight. Robin was passive. As was Faith, surprisingly. Xander had good intelligence on many of the members of the Council, but he didn't know everything. Two neutral and three against. Things weren't going his way. His real hope lay in the rest of the room. Kennedy wouldn't be on his side. Not after he had humiliated her and kicked the ass of one of her hanger-ons. Rona and Caridad wouldn't be with him from the start, since they were the ones that screwed up in Germany. Chao-Ahn wouldn't be much help, if it came down to a debate. Her English had improved, but it was still limited. At least Vi was there. One of the few slayers that was completely on his side, he knew that she would be a big help. After New York, he had made a few allies inside that the others didn't know about. Never mind the slayers that he had "brought in" from Africa.

"We need to be more careful so that our movements aren't detected." Giles continued. "We can study how best to use teleportation spells to move our people around. Or perhaps cloaking spells when we have to move about in public. Altering perceptions of the police and other officials has worked for us in the past. However, we need to be clear that we cannot let them dictate what we do."

Giles' gaze settled on Xander. "Our experiences with the Initiative demonstrate that we are the best ones to decide how to protect the world from evil." Giles had briefed all of the new slayers on their experiences with the Initiative. It led to a heavy distrust of government, something that wasn't necessarily all unfounded, but not to such a level. He knew that the slayers, who had been warned of how they would be used as Buffy had been, would side with him.

Xander had prepared himself for most of this. He knew the likely methods of attack that Giles would employ. That didn't make it any less painful. It did make what he was about to do easier to stomach though.

Standing up confidently, he moved the laptop closer to himself. He had set it up before the meeting with a USB key he had brought with him. On it contained a powder keg. One that he was sure would shake things up. It had to if they were to survive.

Moving the mouse, he booted up the program that was on it. It was a slideshow he had made on Powerpoint. It had taken him a while. Too bad he would have to wipe it after he had played it. National security and all that. Wouldn't do to let the secrets of one of his country's allies slip out.

As the projector was booting up he looked at the gathered faces that had turned their eyes upon him. He had their attention. Now, to make them listen.

"This is Department C." On the screen was a projected image of a wolf's head enclosed in a crimson circle. The symbol of its military units. "It was formed during the early days of the Holy Roman Empire as a protector of German lands and its people."

The slide show continued. It displayed images of its members in full battle dress uniforms. Some of their wizards were shown as well. All had their faces blurred to prevent identification.

"Through upheaval and revolution it has stood on the front line of battle in Europe. Protecting the citizenry from any supernatural threat. During the Third Reich it worked in secret with the American DRI, what you would come to know as the Initiative. In 1944, Heinrich Himler was prepping Vampirsturm. An attempt to utilize vampires in the war effort. It was stopped by a joint task force comprised of members of the 5th Ranger Battalion attached to the DRI, German wizards from Dept. C working with the Free French Forces, and British occultists from Her Majesty's Occult Affairs Office attached to the No. 6 Commandos. That was one of their larger successes." Xander turned.

"In fact, one of the secondary objectives of Operation Overlord was linking up the Rangers with their German and English counterparts. If you want to know, the Slayer was somewhere in South Africa killing some zombies at the time. Apparently, a village of a couple of hundred was in danger. Anyway, this secondary objective of D-Day was to initiate a precision strike on a heavily fortified castle in the Black Forest where Himmler had set up the main Nazi laboratory on vampiric studies. Which leads us to our main topic."

Xander looked at the people he was trying to convince. Giles was wiping his glasses. Andrew looked up with glee, his previous antagonism forgotten in light of a story that sounded like it was from a comic book. Robin was taking copious notes and Faith was watching him with a curious gaze. Dawn looked at the projector screen with the same intensity she used on all of her supernatural studies. Of the gathered slayers, only Vi didn't have a confused look trying to reconcile what they had just been told with who had been the one to give the lecture. Then again, Vi had heard it before.

"Department C gave full civil rights to the Kwaini that were massacred in the Black Forest. They were being studied by an international team of ethno-demonologists. Department C and the German government were supposed to protect them. All of them, the geeks and the demons. They aren't liking this one bit." Xander paused at this. He could see that Rona and Caridad were not impressed. They still saw all demons as the enemy.

"We already know this part." Giles interjected. He had no idea where Xander had gotten this information, or in fact whether most of it was true. But, the rumors he had heard in his days in the Watchers had told him enough to know that Xander knew a lot more than he was letting on. Something certainly had changed in the young man and he was starting to see that he could lose control.

"No. You really don't." Xander said loudly. It was time to bring the point home. "The international occult community is in an uproar. And with it the supernatural agencies of every major government in the world. This is being viewed as an attack on citizens of a sovereign nation by parties unknown. They are viewing it as an act of war. And they will come down on anyone they even think was involved in this act of genocide like the wrath of God."

"You think the Initiative was bad?" Xander could tell that his words were finally getting through to them. It had been a prepared speech, but it was clearly effective. Even Kennedy was stunned. "Think what's going to happen when 50 of them start hunting your ass."

"You ready for that?"

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Author's note: Thanks for the reviews. Last chapter before Chinese New Year's. Happy Year of the Pig.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5: Meeting of the Minds Part II**

The room erupted into discord. Giles was left sputtering loudly while most of the slayers were shouting questions. Even Willow was growing red; evident even through the white glow of her projected image. A bit of a shock when one learns that the supposedly secret war one's been fighting was also being handled by legitimate government forces for the last thousand years or so.

Xander just stood there watching, with a calm expression on his face. Waiting for them to regain their composure. It certainly took a while.

At least they learned something today, Xander thought as he took the USB key from the computer. He walked over to where Robin had been taking notes and took the paper the watcher had been writing on. Robin looked stunned at the intrusion. Looking down at Giles, who was still seated in his seat at the head of the table, Xander noted that the Watcher head had once again started to wipe his glasses.

"You can think I'm lying. You can even think I'm making this up because I'm jealous I was passed over for that jackoff." He stopped to point at Andrew who, now so thoroughly cowed, made no attempt to defend himself. "Or, you can think that I'm telling the truth. I'd go with Door Number 3 if I was you."

"Oh, and if you tell anybody anything I just told you, you'll find yourself with another hole in your head right quick This is real business. With real consequences." Xander took another look around. The eyes of the Council were upon him. Some had expressions of confusion, some with anger, and a few with hope.

"The truth is, I really don't care what you do. I came here because I didn't want you to all end up dead or forced to work for some government agency that doesn't give a flying frog's ass what happens to any of you." Xander could see that some of the slayers, especially the younger ones were softening up to him. Of course, it wasn't like he was telling the whole truth. Heck, at this point, he was a member of a government agency. Secret agent man. He even had the nifty government pension plan to prove it. Of course he'd have to kill anybody that saw it.

"There are more independents than you know." At this point, he was lying through his teeth. Not something he wanted to do, but that had never stopped him from doing what was necessary.

"I managed to find a good number. With so many demon attacks throughout the world, one was bound to draw the vengeance of halfway competent people. Or at least rich ones."

"Wait." Giles interjected. "How exactly did you accomplish this if you were in Africa?"

"Because I wasn't in Africa more than a month in all. You ever been there? Even the demons don't want to be there."

"So what were you doing?"

"Attracting attention. A one-eyed white guy running around the Bush trying to scrounge up some slayers is going to attract attention, no? I hadn't even spent two weeks in before I was found. Some guys had had their families sacrificed to a demon god a few years back and they got angry. Add that to their hundreds of millions of dollars in net worth and you now have quite a few mercenaries running around the world kicking over anthills."

"So, what you're a merc now?" Robin put in. He really didn't know what to think. His chief memory of the carpenter and fix-it guy of the group had been helping save him from being sacrificed over the Seal of Danzalthar. He also knew that the younger field man had been affected by the death of his ex-fiance, but beyond that nothing else. They had never really talked much. Most of the information he had on Xander was from Faith.

"Private contractor is the correct term." Xander grinned. "Though now, I'm the guy doing the hiring."

His cover story had been impeccably created. There was enough that was public, hidden, and faked to show that he had been around the world on various errands for two very wealthy individuals. All of the indepedents on his team would look like mercenaries he had hired. And his beta team would look like an ex-special forces team that was hired by the same angry men. Cover identities were old hat for the the clandestine sectors of government.

"In the last six months, we've been refining our operation. We have contacts with Dept. C, Japan's Special Protection Force, Israel's Sayeret 8, amongst other agencies." Xander could tell that none of them had even heard of these groups. It wasn't suprising. Once the old Watchers' Council had gone exclusively British, it had developed quite the colonial attitude. And after the near Apocalypse of 1806 every occult agency had cut ties with the Council. The Council in reaction, had destroyed its records on their past relationship and had ensured that the field watchers would not be informed of them for fear that they and their slayers would leave for other organizations. Only the senior members were knowledgeable about the international aspects of the fight. On their homefront, the British Occult Affairs Office held out for another 160 years before the prominent members of the Council placed considerable political pressure on the Crown. The official government department, which was still playing well with others at that point, was disbanded not long after that.

"America's just about the only major government not going with a fully funded organization. The remnant of the Initiative is strictly search and destroy. All the money we got, we're the legit American team now. The Pax is even backing our play. There's also a coven based in Tierra Del Fuego that's giving us magical support." Xander looked at Willow. "Odd that despite being based in South America, you had no idea they were even there."

"But, I…I" Willow tried to explain herself after being put on the spot.

"This isn't a game." Xander sighed. It wasn't easy when much of what he was saying was crap. "I want this to work. And I want to make sure you stay alive. But, that's not going to happen if you continue on operating as if you're invincible."

He looked at Andrew. "Screwups like Germany are only going to bring the heat down on all of us. And not knowing the shot is going to a lot of girls killed."

"But, I had best intelligence from very well-placed sources." Andrew whined. He had screwed up. It was obvious, even to him. And yet the new field watcher was more worried about his reputation and how he would be seen, than the fact that he had unwittingly placed his team in danger.

"And if they had not been something else? A tribe of Suvoltes? Prios? You try attacking a group of Prio Motus with their mates there and all you'd find of Rona, Caridad, and the rest would be ash. That what you want?"

Rona and Caridad were uneasy now that they had been brought into it personally. The could have beens and what-ifs had started to play in their minds. Things could have gotten very bad if Andrew had been wrong in the opposite direction. Maybe Xander actually had something here. And if he had as much help as we was claiming, then maybe working with him would be a good thing. This was not the same Xander who had walked away so many months ago.

"It comes down to this. I'm offering allies. Backup. Security. Work with me, and I'll do my damned best to make sure you come home every night. Don't, and I walk away. You'll never see me again. And when the war comes, then you face that alone. Your choice."

Giles knew where things stood now. He also knew that the situation had changed permanently. Total paradigm shift. His position was no longer secure. He could tell that the idea of more support for his slayers had swung them to Xander's course. Robin Wood, though blank of expression, would not back him on this, no matter what had occurred in the past. The son of a watcher, and now boyfriend of a slayer, would look out for what was best for the slayers. And what Xander was offering would likely fulfill that better than what the Council could. To their minds at least. He wasn't so sure. Many of the watchers would follow Robin. Especially the field men. Andrew was persona non grata now. Or close to it now that the slayers were beginning to turn on him. Only Willow might support the Head Watcher after Xander had highlighted one of her mistakes. She wasn't one to be shown to be deficient in any way and let it slide. But, given the two's previous history, he doubted it. In a word, he had lost. For now at least.

"I think that we need to discuss this." Giles said at last. Not that it really mattered. Xander had managed to pull it off. He had no choice in the matter. But, he still had to play it as if he was the one in control.

"Fine." Xander replied. "I have an op in Cleveland anyway. We move tonight. I want Faith and Robin to come with me and my team as observers. Check us out. See what we can do. If we, pass muster."

He smirked. He was in charge and he knew it. He was a field man so he'd have to have someone keep a good eye on the Watcher. Couldn't be too careful these days. Things hadn't started out the best, but it had not been the worst day he had ever had.

Xander walked out the door. He knew the argument that would soon occur in the room. But, he had swayed Robin. And with him Faith. He could tell that much. Vi was already on his side. Andrew was as good as gutted after the beating he had taken. Physically and verbally. Rona and Caridad were shaken and wouldn't put up much of a resistance. Willow wouldn't be willing to argue much in either direction after her confidence had been shaken and her skills questioned so. The only real issue was Kennedy. She had her own backers, some hardliners now that he had made her look like a fool, but many slayers would be on his side. Kennedy wasn't going to be much of a threat, Xander decided. Or at least, not that big of one. All in all, as successful an ambush as any other he had led.

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Author's note: Thanks for the reviews. I'm trying not to be too biased in any direction on any of the characters. Or at least let it unduly influence what happens. So, I'm trying to present reasons why they've become how they are now. Not all of them are going to be redeemed, but some may be. And don't worry Ghostrider, Andrew will get what's coming to him. One way or another. More confrontations next chapter, then on to the plot.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter 6: Lists**

Robin. Faith. Dawn. Andrew. Kennedy. Willow. Buffy. There were things that needed to be said to all of them. Some good, some bad. In some ways he wished Buffy had been here to see the type of man he was now. In others, he never wanted to see her again. It wasn't about trying to measure up to anyone. It hadn't been for a long time. He didn't have to be "Key Guy" anymore. He wasn't trying to compare himself to Angel. Or worse, Spike.

Things hadn't ended well with Buffy. Some things that couldn't be taken back. Things he wasn't even sure he wanted to. End of the day though, he wanted things clean between them. Even if it was a clean break. It'd happen someday. He knew that. Word had reached him even in Africa of what she'd been up to. A vacation in Rome with a new boyfriend. Jealousy was nonexistent. It wasn't high school. The present feelings he had were due to the realization that no matter how many men she went through, Buffy would just never get it. The Immortal was the worst. All of the nasty things that Angelus and Spike had done paled in comparison to what somebody with nearly 1500 years of life could get up to. There'd be a reckoning on that. But not today.

Xander was waiting by the door to the conference room until everyone had come out. Unfortunately, Willow had decided not to stick around. Avoidance was something Willow was good at. With magic, doubly so. Didn't make heart to heart communication any easier. Scratch one. There were others though. He locked eyes with Robin and started walking down the hall towards the kitchen. Robin followed, and with him, Faith. Not unexpected, but he couldn't really have it out with the man if his girlfriend/guard dog was there.

"We need to talk alone." Xander said. He didn't spare a glance to Faith, knowing she'd complain.

"C'mon. I'm a part of this too, or haven't you noticed?" Faith said. She'd mellowed some, but the same sarcasm was there. The same shield she put up against the rest of the world. It was something he saw in himself.

"It's okay." Robin interjected. He was intrigued by the developments and wanted to hear what was on the younger man's mind.

At his word, Faith left. But, not without glaring at Xander. She wouldn't be dismissed that easily. She stuck around outside, about halfway down the hallway. She could be quiet when she had to. Especially when she wanted to listen.

"I get the sense that Giles doesn't agree with what I'm doing." Xander said, not really asking a question.

"You could say that." Robin was guarded. The discussion after Xander had left had not gone well, but ultimately what was best for the slayers would be to go with Xander. And so, he had put his support there. He wasn't sure if that was the best decision, but it was the only one he could make given the lack of options.

"Giles is comfortable in his position. Complacent. Way I see it, he might not be so quick to embrace anything that was made later than the 16th century. Especially if it's put into the hands of his slayers."

Robin smirked at that. Wherever he'd been, Xander had not lost his ability to be blunt. And see into the heart of things. The former school principal had had the same inkling. Giles was getting comfortable with the bureaucracy of his position. He was spending more and more time keeping things running and making sure everyone was in his or her place than in actively doing any leading. The former librarian had become an administrator, not a general. "So what do you want from me?"

"I need someone to make sure that Giles does his job. He's a figurehead now. The Watcher of the longest lived Slayer of all time. Well, that's what they think anyway." Xander paused. "Things are changing. I need someone to make sure that nobody holds that back. You going to be okay with that?"

Robin had expected that. Besides Giles, he was the most experienced. There were a number of watchers that were found after the old Council had been destroyed, but they were mostly trainees and researchers. Son of a slayer and raised by a watcher. Independent hunter in his younger days, Robin was a good watcher. And he knew he'd be a valuable asset to Xander, if he so chose. After him, the next one down was Andrew. And after what had happened in the basement, those two weren't going to be working together for quite awhile.

"Makes sense. I'm your man. But you do anything to hurt the slayers and I will come for you."

"That's it then." Xander ignored the unsubtle threat and made for the door. It was a test. As many things were. Xander needed a man inside, and Robin was the logical choice. But, he still needed to be sure he could trust the field watcher.

"Faith told me about you." Robin called after him. He knew the two of them had a history and he wanted to be sure that it wasn't a problem. A man in charge could find all sorts of ways for an undesirable to get himself or herself lost or worse.

Xander stopped. It wasn't unexpected. After all, he had slept with the girl who was now the watcher's girlfriend. Though, one night of not really sleeping and some odd months of trying to kill them all did not a prior relationship make.

"That a good thing or a bad thing." Xander replied, turning around.

"I don't want you carrying out some vendetta you have with her." Robin said. If the two men were to work together, they needed to address the past. The past being the woman between them. Or so Robin thought.

"That'd be a bad thing then." Xander smiled, leaning against the countertop that was situated in the middle of the large kitchen. Marble. He'd had it installed before he left. Before he had completely left the construction game. Maybe it was time to get back into it.

"You used her. And she went dark for awhile." Robin said, ignoring Xander at this point. It was clear to Xander that Faith hadn't been completely honest about the past. "But, she's over that. And I don't want you caring some type of grudge."

"Done yet?"

Robin nodded, finished. Xander on the other hand, grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. Robin, stunned, did nothing to fight back, especially against a surprisingly strong grip.

"Let's get something straight. I don't care. Truth is, she fucked me. And when I tried to help her, she tried to kill me. A few years later, she rolls into town as if nothing went down." Xander thumped his new ally against the wall again. He knew what he was doing was a mistake. At this point, he really didn't care all that much. "And, I don't give a shit. Faith's one of the best slayers now. Second oldest, and she can fight. Hell, she's more in the game than Buffy is, maybe always was. That makes her top dog."

"Get..." Robin tried to speak but was slammed against the wall yet again.

"The past is over. And I care about her about as much as she cares about me. What I care about is that she can fight. That she's alive to do that. I care about my girls living through this thing. And that means I need Faith alive and coherent. And if your Oedipal complex gets in the way of any of that, you're dead. Get me?"

With that, Xander let the man go and walked out the door. He had to find Dawn. Then Andrew. As he walked down the hallway, he never saw Faith from where she had moved when she heard Xander start to come out. Never saw the conflicted expression on her face.

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Dawn was talking with Andrew in her room. It wasn't her permanent one, so it was sparsely decorated. Her apartment with Buffy in Rome held the things she called hers. Over the years she had led an odd life. Most of it was made up, memories that felt real to her, though they never really happened. It helped make what she knew was real all the more special. She had had a crush on Xander. Fake. She had had a crush on Spike. Real. She has a crush on Andrew. Real.

So it made her angry with the man she had had a fake crush on when he had embarrassed and beat the hell out of the man who currently had her attention. He was like a geekier version of Xander, but the abilities Andrew had gained had made him a lot cooler. Though those were called into question when Xander had come back. Not that Dawn wanted to face that. The weaknesses of character and immorality of action that defined Andrew Wells had escaped her.

Andrew was a remora, sticking to something stronger through which he could gain identity. He played villain. Now he played hero. He was neither. Too weak to be evil and too weak to be good. Filled with a need to be viewed as special left him reveling in the attention of the pretty brunette. That she herself had a mystical and unique background, as well as the fact that she was the sister of the most famous slayer of all, was icing on the cake. Sure, there were the two beautiful women in Rome, but they left pretty quickly when they learned he wasn't a rich eccentric American.

Dawn was currently telling him about her adventures in Rome, while Andrew was explaining how Xander had simply caught him by surprise on an off day. How Xander had fought dirty and that a true warrior would never resort to such tactics. Dawn was starting to buy it when Xander walked into the room.

"I need to talk to Dawn." Xander said. He saw how the two were situated on the bed together. It looked innocent, but he didn't like what it could be a precursor to. He hoped that he hadn't been away too long.

"But, I…" Andrew sputtered. The recent memories of what had happened in the basement were still with him.

"Now." Xander growled. He stared down at Andrew until the geek turned villain turned watcher stumbled out the door. He felt a bit of pleasure at making the boy scared. Followed by a bit of anger. At himself. He felt bad that he had taken pleasure in that. He felt like his dad.

"Xander. We were in the middle of something." Dawn protested. She was already angry with the returnee, and this wasn't making it any better. Things had certainly turned quickly after the fight. The antagonism between the two men was evident. Dawn wanted the two to get along, but she was too annoyed with Xander to try to play peacemaker.

"I know. But, this can't wait." Xander said calmy. Getting angry wouldn't help. He'd learnt that lesson too. Someday he'd learn not to get involved in the love affairs of the Summers women. Someday.

"I'm worried about you. I know you've been doing a lot of growing up in Rome. I've kept track. Your grades are good. Languages especially." Xander fidgeted and sat in a desk chair opposite the bed. Truth was, talking like this made him more nervous than leading his team in the field. He'd been the guy that everyone relied on back in Sunnydale, and could whip out inspirational speeches like nobody's business. Years of comic book collecting and watching action movies had given him that special talent. But, the true depth of the emotions involved in stuff like this, as opposed to just drumming up enthusiasm or making someone feel better, was a whole different story.

"I am an adult you know. And, if I want to date…" Dawn started to say.

"You better not finish that with Andrew's name."

"What if I was? It's not like you can tell me what to do." Dawn sulked.

"No, I can't. I'm not your mom and I'm not your sister. And you are an adult. So you're going to make your own decisions."

Dawn was a bit stunned at this. For quite a while she had been treated as a kid. Buffy and Anya had always talked down to her. Her sister had gotten better that last year in Sunnydale, but once Buffy started dating the Immortal… She remembered how Xander had always treated her like an equal. She missed those days.

"Andrew isn't what you think he is." Xander continued. "I know he's got that whole geek chic going on. And I suppose that's appealing to some. But, he's not the sort of guy that you should be with. He views things like it was comic book. He plays the villain as if Dr. Doom being cool as a comic book bad guy means it's cool to do it in real life. He killed his best friend because he didn't have the spine to walk away. And he was going to rape a woman. Did you know that? He was going to rape Buffy. Did you know _that_? And he didn't even think he was doing wrong. It's what Dr. Light did after all. It's what villains do, so it's what he was going to do.

"He's a hero now. Cause that's what he's left with. But, he plays at it because he wants to be seen as the hero. It's what the others around him view as great. Just as Jonathan and Warren viewed being villains as great. He doesn't have it in him though. Not strong enough to fight. Not smart enough to lead. And not practiced enough to be any kind of wizard. He probably told you I cheated in that fight. That it wasn't honorable."

Dawn nodded at that. She knew that Xander wasn't lying to her. But, it was hard to reconcile it with what she believed to be true. What she wanted to be true.

"That's because he's never really had to fight. He had slayers to do that." Xander continued. "He's never had his back against the wall knowing that any sort of honor or decency would just get people killed. He doesn't see because he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to face a reality where actions have consequences. Where you have to sacrifice a part of yourself in order to save others. He doesn't see, people."

Xander wasn't really even talking to Dawn at this point. The ghosts of his past were still with him. As much as he had tried to deal with them, some still haunted. They'd probably always be there.

"He only sees innocents that need saving, or villains that need vanquishing. Or victims to be avenged. Never the crying children who will never see their parents again because you weren't fast enough. Never the tears of the dying as they were butchered because you weren't strong enough. He doesn't see, because it would mean that he would have to face the things he'd done. And he doesn't have the stomach."

Xander looked at her. He could see that Dawn was starting to get the message. He didn't have much more information than that. The ghost of Katrina had been a fluke. An apparition tied to the remaining mystical energy of the Hellmouth that had yet to bleed off of him. That's what the debrief team had told him. The etheric upsurge in Minsk had activated it and given it form. But, it hadn't lasted. He was glad that he was able to put to use some of the information she had given him. Maybe now her soul would know peace with the last of her assailants soon to be put in his place.

"This is the truth. You can ask Andrew if you want. But, I'm trusting you as an adult. I know you can make the right decision on your own."

Xander walked out the door. As he was almost out of view he paused, and turned his head back slightly.

"I love you." It was nice to know that his whole life wasn't darkness and death.

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He found Andrew in the family room. It was large and comfortable. A couple long sofas against two of the walls. Bookshelves against another. And a pretty sophisticated entertainment center was the centerpoint. Host to a lot of movie nights for the girls. It was hard to remember that pretty much all of them were teenagers. Seemed like slayer potential left if it hadn't been activated by 21. Andrew was watching some Godzilla movie. Engrossed as he was, Andrew didn't notice Xander come in until he had turned off the tv.

"Stay away from Dawn." Xander said without preamble. He took a seat next to Andrew's right. Close enough to make Andrew uncomfortable and therefore at a disadvantage. "And stay away from the girls."

"I'm in charge here." Andrew said imperiously. "I'm in charge of my own team, and I can do what I wish."

Andrew was thoroughly scared of Xander now. Back in Sunnydale he had viewed the now one-eyed man as a kindred spirit of sorts. A fellow comic book geek. Things had changed. Andrew tried to hide it though. Slumped into his identity as a watcher and survivor of the Stand, he tried to gather strength.

"Yeah. And that's a mistake." Xander went on. "You aren't a bad person. But, you don't have it in you. And you're going to get a lot of girls killed if you try to lead them out there."

Xander was half lying. Andrew was a terrible person. He would get people killed in the field. And Xander wouldn't allow that. He'd seen what bad leadership could do. It wouldn't just be you that gets hit, it'd be the guy next to you.

"Look. You have skills. You are pretty knowledgeable about magic and demons. The whole Wizard of Oz monkey thing and all that." Xander continued. "You have a place here. You can contribute. But, not out there."

"I'll have you know that Mr. Giles put me in charge of a team himself. He trusts me to get the job done." Andrew tried to defend himself. A sense of self-importance gave him some kind of strength. Not enough though.

"You know what the word frag means, right?" Xander said, changing the topic, albeit not that smoothly. He thought of the couple of books about war and tactics he had flipped through. Most of it had been forgotten, not everything though. He thought of the trust that Giles had in the inadequate watcher. He was hurt that he didn't have that trust anymore. If he had ever had it at all. Trust that certainly didn't amount to much in LA. A lost slayer. What if it hadn't been Xander's team that had gotten her. Psychotic slayer running amok. She'd done enough damage as it was. Important mission, and Andrew had blown it.

"Of course. It's when you get a kill in a game. Like Doom III or Halo." Andrew replied, missing the point. He was relaxing a bit; it was familiar territory. Maybe Xander had come to apologize by way of deathmatch.

"That's right."

Xander suddenly turned and knelt on top of him. He had an automatic knife in his hand, blade extended, pointed at the now frightened man.

"It also means assassinating an unpopular officer in one's own unit." Xander continued. He moved the knife a bit closer, smoothly drawing it back and forth along the now terrified younger man's neck. Blade lightly touching the skin, not quite enough to cut. Andrew started to squirm. "You're out. No more field operations. You stay at home and do what you can to help. You even try to play hero and I'll slit your throat. You understand me?"

Andrew just barely nodded. He certainly got the message. While he had some anger towards the man on top of him, the fear was too powerful. He was beaten. Some of the delusions he had had about the type of man he was had left him. He wasn't much of a hero if he couldn't even beat a man with one eye. Nick Fury notwithstanding.

Xander was satisfied. Sometimes fear led to anger and made a man dangerous. Or turn Dark Side. And sometimes it so engulfed a man that he couldn't ever dig his way out. Xander was leaning towards the latter in the case of Andrew. But, he knew he'd have to keep an eye out, just in case.

He got up, releasing the blade and pocketing it. On his way to the door to the hallway, he stopped and turned his head.

"I'll be watching."

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Two down. Two to go. He so wished Buffy was here. He was on a roll. As he walked through the house, he saw that Vi had been waiting for him at the foot of the stairs leading to the basement.

"They're both training." Vi said. Xander had taken her under his wing after he had run into her in New York. It had been an accident. She was there helping search for slayers and had gotten mixed up in his hunt for a Kek demon. Thought to be extinct, Vi and the rest of the slayers and watchers on the team had been unprepared for dealing with it. Xander on the other hand, had been carrying a knife with the mark of Kekfadlorem that day. It certainly paid to have good intel. He saved the day, but only Vi was the one to see it. The act endeared her to the normal one of the group. No powers, special knowledge, or mystical background and he'd saved her.

Xander nodded. Xander liked the young slayer. She reminded him of Willow in her younger, pre-magic days. And in some ways, of himself. She had started off an uncertain, barely trained potential. She was a whole lot tougher now. Though it had always been in her, waiting to be brought out. Xander was sure of that. And she listened to him. In her off-hours, Vi would train in secret. At the gun range. At a local dojo Xander had told her about. Xander made sure that she and the rest of his chosen girls in the House had the best training and the best toys.

He walked down the stairs. Vi took up the rear, watching his back. He trusted her to do that. Weren't many that he would have. It meant something to the now 19 year old girl that he trusted her. Heroic, moderately good looking, and quite dashing with the eye patch. Certainly crush worthy. She doubted he knew. Xander was many things, but wise about girls was not one of them. Anya so hadn't deserved him.

She felt somewhat bad about being a mole in the Council. But, Xander had convinced her that it was the best way to keep all the slayers safe. Colleen, one of the survivors of Sunnydale, and Monet, one of the slayers Xander had found in Africa, were in the same camp as she was. A trinity of intrique in the Council. They supported each other and they supported Xander. It was one of the reasons why they were so successful in the field.

She'd played her part well during the discussion over Xander's proposal. Often overlooked, Vi had been able to steer the conversation into the result they wanted without anyone noticing. She turned her attention back to the situation at hand. If things went bad, then she'd have to be ready to help him. Not protect him as other slayers might have thought. She'd seen him in action enough times to know that despite his lack of training and strength, he wasn't someone that needed protecting.

Xander watched as Faith and Kennedy sparred on the way down the stairs. Completely focused on the fight, they moved as if on fast forward. Neither had that much control or discipline, but they had speed and strength. Sometimes that was enough to win. Sometimes it wasn't, as he had proven earlier that day. Faith and Kennedy were two of the girls that were most into the whole "Slayerdom" thing. They embraced it as much as anything in their lives. In Xander's opinion they were a bit too in love with it. Power was intoxicating. And it was a crutch. The Cruciamentum back in senior year had showed him that well enough. Take away the power and the slayer couldn't fight. Slayer-fu was founded on the principle of complete and overwhelming strength. Put that against something stronger, and they were beaten. Put that against someone with skill and a bit of cunning and they were beaten. He tried to make sure that his girls didn't rely completely on what being the Slayer gave them. His girls didn't need it as some slayers did. Most of the time, it was better to be smarter than stronger.

The two slayers stopped when they saw the man that had so recently thrown them all for a loop walk down the stairs. Faith noticed that Vi was behind him. _Following_, not following. That was interesting. Kennedy on the other hand only noticed the man she had pitied and laughed at and now come to despise.

"Faith, we're going to be leaving in a few hours. Whole behind door number 1 routine. But, I thought I should talk to you a bit before we go." Xander said. "To both of you."

"Alright." Faith replied. She knew her actions had had consequences for the man. She wasn't really sorry, that wasn't in her. He was right there with her that night in the motel after all. But, she did know that they'd have to find some way to come to terms with the past if they were to work together. For reasons she didn't understand, it hurt that he seemed to see her as a slayer first and a person second when it was quite apparent that it was the opposite for the other slayers.

"What do you want?" Kennedy put in, scowling. Being made to look a fool in front of her peers certainly did not sit well with the confident, or rather over-confident, slayer.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to fight. And I didn't want to fight dirty, but you really didn't leave me a choice." Xander was laying his heart out, or so it seemed. He knew he wasn't really sorry. A knock in the head was what Kennedy needed and a bit of what she deserved. But, sometimes what someone deserved isn't what she should get. The opposite was also true. He knew that from experience. Learning that doing the right thing may have doomed the world was a heady experience. The twenty or so times he'd been given to changes things was something else. Twenty times. Twenty failures. All to tell him that he only had one chance in the real world to get things right with Willow. He may have screwed that up in the past. When he had still been reeling from the experience. He had to play things better this time. "I know we've had our own issues, but we've always had the same things in mind. What was best for Willow. What is best for the world."

Kennedy was taken aback at this. After having humiliated her, she certainly didn't expect the man to apologize. She was used to being sure all the time. Sure about being a slayer. Sure about being a lesbian. Sure about her relationship with Willow. She hadn't needed nor wanted Xander's input on that last of that. She hadn't reacted well back then. Neither had he. And she hadn't reacted well to him proving her wrong when it came to how to fight. Or about Andrew. Or Mary. But, he had apologized.

"Couple hours from now, I'm going to show Robin and Faith what I can offer." Xander went on. "It's really up to you whether you work with me on this or not. But, it's not going to work if we're at each others throats."

"So what now?" Faith said. He was trying to make peace with her. She was mostly in the wrong, she knew that now, but he was trying to make peace.

"New start. With both of you. I don't want to have to watch my back against the both of you with the sort of things that are out there. We had things between us. But, it's been a year and we need to move on. It's what best. For all the slayers. And the world. That's what's important. Right?" Xander said. A part of it ate at him. A need for petty revenge. It was another thing he didn't like about himself. The one time he'd given in to it had gotten out of hand. He wouldn't let that happen again.

"Alright." Faith stuck out her hand. Half desire to heal some old wounds. Half dare. Xander took it. Faith was only half surprised. She supposed she'd always seen it in him. His willingness to work with her in Sunnydale even after she'd try to kill him. Not from a distance like some of the others. Up close, hands around his neck. Eyes to eyes.

Kennedy put her hand on top of theirs. Like something out of an 80's movie. But, it was clear. She was willing to let things go. Though likely she'd still pop an attitude if she didn't like what he was doing. But, she wouldn't do it just because anymore.

Vi smiled in the corner of the room she had settled herself in. She was glad that the two groups were coming together. She didn't like playing spy. Besides, it would mean she wouldn't have to keep that emotional distance she was forced to have from most of the slayers. And, maybe she'd be able to make a play for Xander now.

"Alright." Xander spoke, after they had had their moment. "I got some things I gotta do for tonight. Faith, I'll pick you up at 9."

He left, with Vi on his tail. Faith watched them go back up the stairs. She'd have to talk with the red haired slayer. Find out what was truly going on.

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Author's Note: Nawaki no Shinob, it's both actually. One for each major country. Though it's a rounded figure. Some of the confrontations out of the way. Not everything is totally smoothed over though. A bit dour I guess, but Xander isn't all Dark Avenger.

Oh, I addressed some of the points from reviews in my profile.

Grammar edit. Thanks RudyHenkel.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter 7: Listening to Reason**

The warehouse looked abandoned. It usually was. But, not tonight. A few notice-me not spells, a sanctuary spell or two, and it was perfect for a temporary headquarters. Curtis Myers, Paul Cunningham, Jack McMillan, and Cindy Wu were there. Xander's team, minus one. Field Team Alpha of Level 6. Only field team actually, but the organization was working on that. The support personnel called them the A-Team, though not to their faces. Xander thought it was kind of neat though.

Xander walked in, surveying his team getting ready for that night's operation. His team. Even after the months they'd been together it still affected him.

"How'd it go?" Cindy asked. She was the team's magical support. Born in San Jose, California to immigrant parents, raised by said parents and their parents, the 27 year old mage had grown up with magic. Ancient traditions. Rituals. Shamanic spell casting. She'd apprenticed to an old wizard in France when she turned 18. Learned as much from old Cahlus as she had from her family. Hermetic magic. Different kind of rituals. She may not have been the most powerful, but the breadth of her experience in all forms of magic made her more than a match for most.

"Good." Xander replied. He looked at the pretty woman before him. She was dressed in black BDU's, as were they all. Some fetishes and other tokens were attached to her uniform at different points. Hawk feathers. A dried lizard. Small reliquary. A gold chain with a small ruby ringed by amethyst hung from her neck. An artificial focus. Combat oriented. Red for fire he supposed. It was appropriate. She was born in 1977 making her a dragon, elemental sign of fire. And she certainly knew her way around an incendiary spell. Even if it did tend to be bigger than what was needed.

Xander walked to the van parked in the center of the warehouse. It was appropriately painted black. It had been modified in New York, where the team was based then airlifted to an Ohio Air Force base. Improved suspension, bored out engine, turbochargers. The van could move. It also had a small dolly arm mounted to the inside. Attached to that was a M134. A minigun. Somehow one had made it's way into the sterile weapons inventory of Level 6. After that, it had been a simple matter of requisitioning it. Most of the rest of the space inside the van was taken up by copious amounts of ammunition as well as the necessary battery pack. Rigged to shoot out the backdoor, it would be a surprise to anyone that came knocking. One of his guys was currently looking over the arm mount. Could never be too careful.

John McMillan. Mad Jack McMillan. Mad Dog McMillan. A lot of names for a lot of man. Born in Belfast. Raised on the streets. Murdered his first British soldier when he was 14. One of the best assassins the IRA ever fielded. Course he found himself out of a cause on April 10, 1998. Went to the mainland, Asia, Africa. Turned merc. But, Jack was a fighter not a soldier, of fortune or otherwise. He needed something to fight for. Xander had found him protecting drug convoys in Nigeria. Unfulfilled. Money didn't take care of all needs. Xander had given him a cause. A purpose. And the sins of the man's past were looked over. Though they both knew there'd come a time when it'd have to be paid back. Till then, Xander had a good shooter on his team. Somebody that could be relied on to make sure everything was dead.

"How's it look?" Xander asked.

"It'll do the job." Jack replied. "Ye find what you're looking for?"

"Something like that. Make sure it'll work right. I don't want you shooting my ass off tonight."

Jack laughed at that.

"Xander. We have the latest info on the Suvoltes." Curtis, his second, and Paul Cunningham walked up. "It looks good. With the eggs so close to hatching none of them will leave tonight. We can hit them all at once."

That was the mission. Suvoltes had been making a nuisance of themselves in Cleveland. A nest of them had dug in at an old sewer substation. They needed to be taken out before they spread. Full nests worked like that luckily. A mass hatching and nobody left. This strain anyway. Information had come in when a local priest had noticed that some of his flock had started to disappear. Street people. Nobody anybody would miss. Except him. He sent the word on up and Knight Paul Cunningham had been sent in to check things out.

Paul was old school warrior. Order of Michael variety. True believer in the way that gave a man power. It was said that a vampire couldn't even touch him without burning. Xander wasn't sure he could believe that. It was like something out of the Dresden Files. But, he'd heard stranger things. Like how Paul talked to God. And God talked back. He wasn't sure of that either. But, the other man believed it. And if he belonged in the rubber room or on God's right hand, that was something that had to be settled at another date. They'd hooked up when Xander accidentally blow up a chunk of a church in Vatican City. The Holy See hadn't like that, but they knew his motives were pure. Kind of. So they sent Paul to watch over him. Make sure he didn't blow up anymore churches.

"Cindy has laid wards and warning spells over the area. And we have shut all of the other ways out. The only exit point is the main drainage canal that we'll be using." Paul said. A mite uptight, but he was dependable. Real Old Testament type, minus Exodus and Leviticus.

"Alright. Let's go over the main plan one more time." Xander said. He trusted his men, but this was going to be with an audience so he wanted things to go right.

His team gathered around him. The only one missing was Abigail Winters. She, under protest, had to stay behind in New York. She was the slayer assigned to his team. Xander had found her in Chicago. Only daughter to a loving father. Former Marine that had fought in Vietnam. Not the type that was ex-anything. Given the options, he wanted her with some governmental backing over what the Council could offer. So she was on his team. Her father had made sure she could fight long before she was called. It made her a perfect member and her "slayerhood" gave the team an air of legitimacy in the supernatural community matched only by Paul's reputation. Though even that would have been overshadowed if anybody had figured out that the One-Eyed Jack was leading the unit. But, Xander had left that behind when he came back _home_. Tried to at least. One Jack in the unit was enough.

"Here it is." Xander looked at the big board that had blueprints to the city sewer system pinned to it. The center was the substation the Suvoltes had taken as their own.

"We set up at the outside runoff gate. Jack and Curtis will stay in the van. Jack's manning the cannon with Curtis backing him up and acting as overwatch. Cindy, Paul, and I go in. Cindy sets up in the secondary pipe we found and sets up the shielding spell. Paul and I rough them up and lead 'em back down the pipe. Cindy drops the shield so they can't run back. They follow us out and into Jack's line of fire. We move to the sides to take up flanking positions while Curtis gives the clearance to fire."

"And then I make 'em listen to reason." Jack interjected, eager to start this thing. Stupid joke, but it helped lighten things.

"Right." Xander said, dryly. "Just be sure you wait for the clear. We stay on the flanks and pick off any that try to spread out. Meanwhile, back in the tunnel, Cindy lays an electric bolt under the shield to take out all of the eggs. Remember, Suvoltes may be dumb, but they're tough and fast. And the adults have thick hides. The bolt won't stop them. Keep it tight and watch your lines of fire. Make sure you know where everyone else is. You'll be fine."

In truth, Xander was a bit wary. The mission was planned in some parts in accord with aesthetics. Never a good thing. The fact that the target was still inside the city meant they couldn't just plant explosives and then move in afterwards to mop up. It may be old and seldom used, but the pipes were still connected to the main lines. He couldn't just blow the place and let the city pick up the bill. Xander also didn't like the fact that he didn't have his beta team with him. Scott, late of the Deltas, now commander of his backup team, had liked that about as much as he did. But, the audience meant he couldn't show all his cards. Which also meant that they couldn't have Abigail there. Some slayers could sense the presence of others. And it'd lead to too many questions if they knew he had slayers of his own with him. It also meant that Cindy was on her lonesome in the tunnel. She could teleport out, but if trouble happened quickly, she may not have enough time. And it would leave her exhausted. He knew she was fully capable, but it was in his nature to worry about his team.

They were briefed, and all that was left was getting it over with. Xander was loading his own car while the rest of his team finished their preparations. His own equipment and some stuff that wouldn't fit in the van went into the trunk. It was a rental, so he hoped nothing would happen to it. He was nervous, as he usually was before an operation was executed. Not scared though. He hadn't been scared in a long time. The nerves though, they helped keep him sharp.

"Set up at the site. Make sure you have your masks down when I come in. And, run a final check when you get there. I want this to run like clockwork." Xander was ready to get started. He just had to pick up his audience.

The men and woman of his team nodded. They knew their jobs. And they'd do it. They watched as Xander drove off. They hadn't known that much of Xander's past when they started working with him. He'd been a private man who hadn't revealed anything except for that which was necessary. The existence of slayers. What had gone down in the last days before Sunnydale fell into a sinkhole. The type of forces that were aligned with them and against them. But, they trusted him. The same thoughts were in the minds of all the team gathered in the building. They were worried about their leader, as was their nature.

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Author's Note: Shorter chapter. With a visit from Basil Exposition. I'll be uploading Chapter 8 a bit after it. After that is an interlude that catches up a bit with what a couple of the other non-original characters are doing. Then the second arc starts.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter 8: Of Guts and Guns**

It was 9:00 on the dot when Xander picked up Faith and Robin. It was exactly half an hour later when they arrived at their destination. The Council representatives had been somewhat surprised at what Xander was wearing when he picked them up. They usually wore street clothes when they went out on patrols or on a hunting trip. Xander, in his black uniform, was far removed from their expectations. Of the man and his usual garish clothing. In truth, Xander had gotten rid of the last of his Hawaiian shirts quite a while ago.

Xander pulled up slowly to the vehicles he saw near the entrance to the sewer system. He had triggered his radio so they knew he was coming. Situated on the East Bank of the Flats, near the Cuyahoga River, he knew they would be alone. The warehouses and office buildings around them had long since gone out of business. Nobody would notice the lives lost and the lives saved that night.

As per his instructions, his team was wearing black balaclavas. Around most of their necks were night vision goggles. They had taken the time on site to kit out and set everything up. The van was situated tail end to the drainage tunnel that was their entrance and exit point. Xander could see where the sandbags had been laid to the sides of the tunnel. Behind them he knew would be M249 machine guns with M27 200 round belts attached. Normally, he'd have men manning them for the whole mission. This time, Paul and he would be taking up those positions after they'd made it out of the tunnel.

After he parked, front of the car pointed towards the road, he looked over to Faith in the passenger seat next to him and then to Robin in the back. Both had blank expressions on their faces, though their confusion was clearly apparent in their eyes.

"Right then, let's get ready." Xander said. He moved to the trunk and got the rest of his equipment out. He would have to do a lot of fast running so he was going in with less than his normal load. No armored vest, and he wasn't taking most of his web gear with him. He was even leaving his shoulder bag behind. He strapped a G36C to his back, and belted on a Five-SeveN. Usually he carried an axe or a kukri on his back, but the night's mission emphasized speed and stealth over strength.

The slayer and her watcher watched without word as Xander put on his equipment. It was something of a shock to see him wearing guns. Even after the shakeup and complete reformation of the Watchers' Council, they were still stuck in the past. Axes and swords constituted their close-in weapons of choice. For range, they went with bows and crossbows. Compound bows constituted advanced weaponry for the Council.

After he had finished, Xander walked his passengers over to the rest of his men. He could easily identify them despite the masks. Paul, all of 6'4" and 250 pounds, was a giant compared to the rest of the group. He had most of his full gear on, vest included. The only sacrifice for the mission was his normal load of ammunition and grenades. He carried a modified M249 Para in his hands and on his back was his Sword. Forged by priests of his order, it was imbued with magical properties. It functioned as a cross and the damage it dealt was enhanced by holy fire. Next to him was Curtis. Simply dressed compared to the rest, he only had his sidearm on him. A modified M4 with a thermal scope and equipped with a C-mag rested next to the van, the position he would take as overwatch.

Jack and Cindy were at the rear. Jack, as rear gunner was only armed with a FN nine millimeter, a holdover from the old days. He wouldn't have much room in the van. Hanging on his belt were a set of acoustic earmuffs. Cindy had her usual set of magical accoutrements, some hanging off her body armor. She usually didn't like to wear a vest, but Xander always insisted.

Looking at the motley crew assembled before them, the two from the Council were nervous. It wasn't amateur hour. Whatever Xander had gotten himself into, it was serious. Even more unsettling was that he looked just as serious as the rest.

"Right." Xander said, breaking the two out of their introspection.

"This is Alpha-two." Xander pointed at Curtis.

"Alpha-three." He pointed at Paul.

"Alpha-four." Cindy.

"Alpha-five." Jack.

"I'll be Alpha-one." Xander finished.

"What, you aren't going to tell us who they are?" Robin asked. He had thought that in addition to a demonstration, he'd be allowed to talk to the men he was considering working with. Maybe not the two pulling the strings, but he had hoped for something to help him decide.

"Like I'm going to give up my shooters to you." Xander scoffed. He turned to his team.

"Cowboy up." Xander said. "Time to work."

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The pair walked through the tunnel in darkness. Xander and Paul had taken the time to memorize the myriad pathways and quickly reached their target. Cindy had taken her position a few minutes ago and was readying her spells. Jack and Curtis were back at the van, readying their portion of the mission. And Faith and Robin were watching. From a safe distance. They'd been told that the team was going to clear a nest of demons, but not what the actual plan was.

"Alpha-five, ready." Jack said over his comm. He slipped the earmuffs over his head, making sure his earpiece was still seated correctly. It was going to get loud.

Curtis was laying in a prone position next to the van. Off to the side enough to get a clear view of the field. He pulled a night vision scope from a side pocket and put it to his eye. A simple scan of the area. "Alpha-two, ready."

"Alpha-four, ready." Cindy had started casting her spell, gathering the mystical energy around her she formed it into a small ball in her mind, waiting to forge it into a dome shield when she was given the signal. She double-checked the spells she had laid previously during their recon runs, making sure all the other avenues of escape were cut off. One way in. One way out.

"Alpha-one and Alpha-three, ready." Xander whispered. "Weapons tight. I repeat, weapons tight. We have the ball."

Paul readied his weapon. Xander was covering him with his rifle as they moved to the front of the tunnel, making sure they were not attracting attention. Slightly below them lay the substation. It was crawling with Suvolte demons. Xander placed the number of adults at nearly 200. There were about 50 juveniles and a number of hatchlings running around. Gray skin turned green in their night vision goggles. They could see the nest of eggs in the center; most were wriggling, just waiting to hatch. Around the sides of the dark room lay the remains of bodies. Some animal, most of them human. They'd been busy.

Jack had opened the rear doors to the panel van when he'd checked in, making sure the weapon was ready to fire. Unlike the movies, a guy couldn't just carry the thing. He wasn't built like Jess Ventura, he barely topped 5'5". The arm mount stabilized the weapon and the recoil would be absorbed by the van. A thin band of runes was painted along the inside of the van, closest to the rear. It would absorb the sound of the gatling gun so as not to attract attention. Didn't do anything for anyone inside the van though. That's what the earmuffs were for. He didn't put on his night vision goggles. Once he started firing, he would barely be able to see anything in front of him. Jack would be relying on Curtis to help him direct his fire. Although, given that the tunnel entrance was not even 10 feet wide, it was a very small area to put fire on. A natural chokepoint.

Robin and Faith had been given earpieces set to the comm channel. No mikes though. The two were observers so they could listen, but not interfere. They could hear the tension in Xander's voice, though there was no fear. Faith thought that seemed a bit strange. Maybe not though considering how much had changed in the man. She'd have to start re-evaluating him.

"Go." Xander stated, when all hell broke loose. Paul fired his machine gun into the mass of demons, concentrating on those closest. One. Two. Ten. Bodies. In the first two seconds of mass fire, the closest dozen fell. Some nearly cut in half. Xander took more careful shots, placing them on any demons that tried to come at them from the sides. The hornets' nest had been kicked over.

"Fall back." Xander ordered. He started back, still firing his weapon. Paul, dropping his now empty machine gun, started on his run. Xander followed soon after, firing to cover their retreat. When his rifle ran dry, he dropped it and ran faster down the tunnel, closing on Paul.

The men outside only heard gunfire over their comlinks. It was a tense few minutes until Xander and Paul ran out of the runoff tunnel, breaking to each side. The demons were right on their tail.

"Clear." Curtis said, giving Jack the go to fire. He did. The night lit up almost as bright as day with the mass of bullets coming out of the six barrels of the minigun. They hit the demons full on. With nowhere to run, it was a massacre. Jack started laughing. As good as sex, almost. Demons fell, blood coating the tunnels. In less than a minute all of the Suvoltes trying to make it out of the tunnel fell, dead. None were smart enough to try to back off. Their anger at the intrusion on their home made them angry. That made them dumb. Xander and Paul, who had already taken flank positions with the pre-set M249's didn't need to fire a shot. None of the demons made it out the sides.

"Hold fire. Hold position." Curtis ordered. Through his night vision scope he couldn't see anything moving. Nothing was moving in the substation either. Once the last of the demons had run out of the substation, Cindy had dropped her shield into place. She then sent in a small electrical bolt through the eggs, shocking the infant Suvoltes to death. It was quick and clean. She could have massacred all the demons herself, but the amount of power necessary would have resulted in too much collateral damage. So it was left to guts and guns.

Nobody moved for the next five minutes. Suvolte physiology was unlike human physiology. Aside from the obvious like mottled skin, the breeding capabilities of rabbits, claws, and sharp teeth, they also exhibited an interesting reaction in death. They cooled, very very fast. Curtis checked the thermal scope mounted on his rifle. No heat signatures designating living bodies. Jack had gotten them all.

"Alright. Cleansweep." Curtis told his team members. Xander and Paul moved forward slowly advancing back to the runoff gate. Xander and Paul were carrying the machine guns that they had been covering the flank with. Thermals may not have shown anything still breathing, but it was better to be safe. They checked the bodies at the chokepoint, and then moved down the tunnel. Nothing was alive.

When they reached the substation they could see that none of the eggs were moving. Cindy had completed her objective. Xander pulled out a thermal scope from a side pocket and checked the demonic corpses that had fallen inside the substation. Cold.

"Alpha-four. Open a window, we're going in." Xander said. A hole appeared in the slightly shimmering shield and the two men walked through. Xander advanced first, with Paul covering. They checked all the bodies, confirming they were dead. Then they checked the eggs, all were equally dead. The mission was a success. No fatalities nor injuries on their side. The best they could have hoped for.

"All clear. Regroup." Xander ordered. As the two men walked out of the substation they were joined by Cindy. She looked a little winded, but was in high spirits. On their way out, Xander and Paul recovered their dropped weapons, Paul not even slightly slowed by the weight of two machine guns.

Robin and Faith were suitably impressed, though they heard rather than saw most of the action. Given the sheer number of bodies they had seen, they both knew that if slayers had tried to clear the nest, they would certainly have lost some if not all of the people that would have sent inside.

Xander was debriefing his team as Robin and Faith approached. Curtis and Jack rigged the gatling gun for travel, got back into the van and drove off. Their orders were to get back to the warehouse and starting cleaning up their equipment for the move out. Paul and Cindy just went back to their car and waited, not taking off their masks. They had called in a sweeper team to come in and sanitize the area. Level 6 was careful in their work. No leaving of demon corpses that could be traced back to them. All the left brass would be collected and disposed of. The nest would be cleaned and the human remains would be given a proper burial. No incidents like Germany were allowed or tolerated.

"What do you think?" Xander asked the representatives of the Watchers' Council. He pretty much knew they were impressed; they didn't even try to hide their feelings. He only hoped that they wouldn't let any personal bias cloud their judgments on what was best for the Council.

"Pretty badass X." Faith said. She may not have been the most intellectual of the Council, but she could see that this was the way of the future. Anything that helped the slayers stay safe was good in her book.

Robin was still wary. A gatling gun, machine guns, assault rifles, and obviously customized vehicles. This wasn't the work of some mercenaries hired by some rich guy. He wasn't sure what it was, but he could tell that Xander spoke the truth about what he wanted. However the man had gotten the men and equipment, it would obviously accomplish their mutual goal. But, Xander was lying to them. If he wanted, Xander could have started a war against him that the watcher wasn't sure that the Council could win. It didn't necessarily make the one-eyed man untrustworthy though.

"I'll advise the Council to work with you." Robin said at last. He may not have completely liked the situation, but he had to make a choice. He went with his gut. He could trust Xander on this. Though he would have to take steps to make sure that it wouldn't come back to bite them.

"You'll have a week. We do this, and I'll bring someone in to coordinate on any operations. Robin, he'll be your main contact with us. Patrols go on as they are for now. Though I want after action reports written up on them every night. Any mission needs to get approved by my man." Xander was as happy as he could be with the situation. The things that had happened in the last day would have consequences. Some would be good. Some would be bad. He couldn't tell the future. He couldn't tell what they would all be. He only hoped he had the intelligence and the strength to deal with them.

"C'mon. I'll drive you guys home." They all started back to the car. The ride back was quiet. Each lost in his or her own thoughts. By the time they had reached the House, they all knew there was some sort of peace between them. For the sake of the slayers, there had to be.

Robin and Faith got out. For a second, Xander wanted to follow. He'd have liked to check on Dawn again. Maybe even talk to Vi and his other girls now that things were a bit more in the public. But, he had to follow up with his team and make sure they made it back okay.

"One last thing, Robin." Xander called them back. "The Immortal. Thomas Fairchild. Check it out."

Xander drove off.

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Author's Note: So I addressed some stuff in my profile. If I get any long reviews I'll probably set up a forum or something.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter 9: Roman Holiday**

The Catacomb, Rome, Italy

The Eternal City. Though only about 2100 years old. Older than most, even the Immortal. He'd been there for about 400 years off and on. It'd become his city in that time. Enough power and influence built up over almost a half millennium had offered up the keys to nearly everything in the city. Including one slayer that now called it home.

On the other hand, 1500 years of life and almost half of that in the lap of luxury on the Earth plane had made him complacent. He had hired enough lackies to not make that much of a problem. There were always a few ruffians that tried to start something with him. His bodyguards and man-servants usually kept them away before they could even see him.

Sooner or later though, the past always caught up. For an immortal Faerie, it was usually later. Sometimes they deserved it, sometimes they didn't. But, the karmic gambling of a Faerie's life almost invariably ended in pain. For someone.

"10 million euros." The Immortal said. He was smoking a cigarette in the small club. It was not his usual place of doing business, but he wasn't fussy over such a large amount of money.

"Very well. The merchandise will be delivered as per the usual methods." Vittorio was used to dealing with the Immortal. The demon knew that he didn't have to haggle. The Immortal was always fair with his offers. Vittorio had gotten quite rich over the deals he had made with the Faerie, though he didn't actually know what the Immortal really was. This was their latest and largest deal yet.

He was a dealer in all manner of objects. Guns. Drugs. Girls. Boys. It made no difference to the Kailiff. He stroked the spines coming out of the sides of his face next to his chin. He was cautious by nature. The delivery of such a large cargo would be tricky. And to attempt it under the nose of the slayers in the city would not make it any easier. But, it was why he was getting paid so much.

"Good." The Immortal rose from his chair. He had other plans for the night. Vittorio watched him walk away.

The Immortal left the club. He was content with his lot in life. He had a new ragazza that had proven fun to be with. And being close to a slayer kept the riff-raff out of his business. After all, what evil could the beau of a slayer possibly be doing? Not that the Immortal was evil. Or good for that matter. He was a Faerie. Such creatures were beyond such petty notions. At least those of them like the Immortal. A distressingly large amount of the Faerie population to some.

He took what he wanted. He paid for what he wanted. A hundred million euros to museums throughout Europe. And ten million euros to pay for arms and munitions for the protection of poppy fields he owned in the Golden Triangle. He enjoyed art as well as the profits that came from the sale of heroin. In his time he had helped Wolfram and Hart gain a foothold in many countries, and had personally stopped the end of the world twice. Such was his nature. The continuation of his pleasure in the flavors of the Earth could not happen if the planet did not exist. On the opposite side, it would not be as easy if there were too many White Hats running around.

As he walked down the narrow street to the main thoroughfare, flanked by his two bodyguards, the Immortal did not notice the nondescript man shadowing him. Not too tall or too short, the man was easy to miss. It was a cultivated appearance. An appearance that belay the true nature of the man. He was a Faerie too. Different sort. A true warrior, and good enough to actually survive what being one meant. He had fought in Iraq during the civil war. He had fought on the shores of Normandy. He had fought in the Russian winter. And in trenches in spring. He had been at Thermopylae with the Thespians. And at Troy, when the walls fell. He called himself Richard now, after a young boy he had befriended in the 12th century.

Richard was not in a war now. He was on a hunt. The Faerie Court did not concern itself over matters beyond their realms. Even when it came to the actions of its own kind. However, there were exceptions. And when such exceptions did not respond to the more polite of reprimands, it sent out those members whose passions lay in more impolite areas.

And Thomas Fairchild was now one of those exceptions. Drugs. Guns. Power. Regime change. Such things were beneath the attention of Lady Angelina, head of the Faerie Court. At least, when it happened on Earth. But dealing in flesh, the flesh of children, was another matter. Popular media was wrong on much when it came to the Fey, but their value of children was not one of them. And Thomas, had crossed a line.

But, so many centuries without watching eyes had allowed him to enact a defense against what normal measures the Court could bring down upon him. There would be no Black Hunt to bring him in at all costs as had occurred in days past. Such messy and public affairs were rare these days. The machinations and ruminations regarding the justice to be dealt all occurred unbeknownst to Thomas. The sending of a single warrior. The tracking of his movements. The trench coat hiding an enchanted mithril blade and a MP5K loaded with hollowpoint rounds.

By this time, Richard had come within twenty feet. First, he would take care of the bodyguards. Vergian demons currently disguised as humans. Strong and tough, but some well placed shots and they dropped like everything else. Thomas would be harder. The Immortal may not like magic, odd for a Faerie, but he was not without power. The rest of the specially made cold iron rounds would go into him, followed up by the sword if need be.

As Richard prepared himself to draw his weapons, a small blonde ran across the street and hugged the Immortal. His girlfriend obviously. Or whatever piece of tail he had picked up for that night's entertainment. But, she was no ordinary human. He could feel power coming off her. A witch maybe. Or a changeling. Maybe even one of the increasingly, and annoyingly, present slayers. Richard was not unwilling to start a ruckus, but to do it in public presented too many undesirable complications. The Court would not stand too visible movements amongst its people. Of its criminal or its warriors. Not, while it was still a low-level hunt. Richard turned on the next street. There'd be another chance.

"C'mon. We're going to be late to the club." Buffy said, excitedly. She loved going dancing with her boyfriend. She loved snuggling with him. They were still in the new and exciting part of their relationship. Buffy felt she deserved a break after all the times she had saved the world. Eight years or so and it was time to have some fun. With so many slayers running around, she didn't feel the need to fight. Buffy didn't ask to be a slayer and now she didn't have to be one anymore. She still showed some of the newer ones around her world when they came into Rome though. And Andrew sometimes stayed there. So it wasn't like she had quit. She just didn't have to be the One anymore.

"Business ran a little late. Don't worry, we'll get in." The Immortal replied back. He loved her. As much as he had loved any of the women he had had in the past. Including the ones he had killed. She was a blonde American. From California. In all his years this was the first time he had had one of those. It was a pleasurable experience.

"They always have room for us." He continued. Buffy melted at that. In Hemery, she had been the queen. Always had the best and always expected that it would be hers as was her right. In Sunnydale, she had been a freak and an outcast. It had not been a pleasant experience. Now, it felt like she was back. The whole world laid out before her all thanks to her new man.

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He was back in his hotel before too long. It was nice as many things were in Rome. Real Old World feel to it. He'd been in Rome before. Seen the gladiators go at it in the Coliseum. Rome had changed some. But, not in the more decadent ways. A suite. Soft towels. Full length tub, which he had just spent some a fair amount of time in. Bidet. Free Internet access. Expensive, but he could afford it. A dozen lifetimes or more had earned him a lot of spoils. It didn't make him soft though. It did let him keep up on current events. And get in touch with the people he needed to talk with.

Her name was Buffy. Richard knew that now. Just as he had known the magic spells and wards that protected the Immortal's home. And that his two main bodyguards were named Valeek and Jurash. Valeek had a slight limp on the right and Jurash was stiff in the left shoulder. Intelligence to add to intelligence.

He was patient. He was cautious. In the days of iron and steel, a being such as he had to be. Never knew when somebody would stick him with a steel shank. Or shoot him in the head with a full metal jacket bullet. Faerie healing didn't help much with a few grams of steel in one's skull.

She was a slayer from Sunnydale. The one that had caused the original split in the slayer line. The one that had led to the creation of thousands. He knew this, because Xander knew this. He'd met the young man in Minsk. Some bad mojo had gotten up when a Belarusian dreamwalker had played around with something fierce. Best not to mess with the dreams of the things that should not be seen. They'd teamed up, dealt with it, had some times with a ghost that had somehow attached itself to the young warrior, and had walked away with an understanding. The old warrior trusted the man with his life. A rare thing. The complications that had arisen meant that he couldn't do a simple hit. Buffy didn't know about the Fair Folk. Not many humans did anymore outside of what they read or saw on tv. A public Faerie hit in front of someone already aware of the supernatural would lead to too many questions. And with some slayers already going all "Friends of Humanity" it'd just get a lot of innocent non-humans killed. Though that might have been okay with some of the warriors of the Faerie Court, it was not acceptable to Richard. It was time to call in One-Eyed Jack.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter 10: Psych**

Somewhere in New York State, USA

Xander was at his desk. As team leader he had his own office. The rest of his crew had their own rooms as well. His had a window though. The office had a view of the river. It was nice. Tranquil. Completely the opposite of what he was feeling.

His large steel desk didn't have much on it. Some after action reports he still needed to finish writing. His computer. Files on whatever scumbag demon or human he was supposed to find and/or kill. A picture. Buffy. Willow. Him. Back in better days. He had both his eyes. Buffy was really happy. And Willow hadn't tried to end the world.

Xander had his computer was on. The report on what had gone down in Cleveland had been easy enough to write up. He was reviewing it again. Trying to pick up anything that hadn't been seen during his own reflections and debriefing. It had gone as planned. Even the whole X-men/X-Factor teamup thing had gone down smoothly. He was even supposed to bring on some slayers and a watcher on their next mission. That wasn't what bothered him though.

No, there were three things. The first being what would happen when less experienced than Faith type slayers ran with his crew. He didn't always play nicely and that could freak people out. And freaked out people tended to freeze. And frozen people tended to get killed. At least Vi would be there. She'd keep the group calm and safe if it came to that. He hoped he wouldn't have to push them too hard. The second thing was an e-mail. From Rome. Richard was working something down there and needed to talk. He had previously requested some information which Xander had readily supplied. If the Faerie warrior had to contact him again so soon then it was serious. And serious in Rome gave him a headache. Especially if it again featured a certain mystical being that he wasn't allowed to touch. He'd have to deal with that later. The third thing was the appointment he had in five minutes. With his shrink. Technically speaking it was with the government psychiatrist that had been assigned to Level 6. Governmental mandate. Didn't want psychos, Jack McMillan notwithstanding, working for them. They'd had enough of that with the Initiative. So they had periodic meets with a psychiatrist to make sure none of the agents were going off the deep end. Didn't help much that his appointment happened right after he got back from confronting some of the things he hadn't wanted to. Someone up there must hate him, Xander thought. Only explanation.

He turned the monitor off. Time to face the music. Xander walked out of his office and closed the door. He looked at the nameplate attached to it. Gold. Engraved lettering. Alexander Harris. Like he wasn't just some kid from the 'burbs playing secret agent. He didn't drink martinis. Shaken or stirred. He didn't pull on a hundred different colored wigs when he ran around the world. And, he couldn't improvise with a magazine and a power cord to kill a man and blow up his house. He was just some guy.

A floor down in the east corner was the office of one Dr. Caitlin Farmiga. Richly decorated, it was a nice office. Pale blue walls and a view of the river equal to his own. But, Xander always had the feeling that the lady doctor knew more than what she was letting on. It made him a bit uneasy. Though it had probably just been his last experiences with a lady doctor that dealt with the human mind. Dr. Farmiga had access to his psych profile, which probably meant that she knew a heck of a lot more about him than he wanted to admit about himself. Certainly not something that made him completely at ease.

"Sit down." Dr. Farmiga said. She watched as the young agent sat down in the chair before her desk. He was a lot less nervous than the first time she had met him. It hadn't even been that long ago. She met his gaze. It meant something to him, she supposed. A sign of strength that she didn't try to avoid his, eye.

"Sure doc." Xander grinned. He may not be the most comfortable with her, but she was nice enough to spend a half hour with. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"I think I'm supposed to be the one asking the questions." The doctor returned the smile. Her role wasn't necessarily to go too in depth with any of her "patients." She functioned much more as a counselor for men and women that were facing things that shouldn't have to be faced. A bit of mental distress was always going to be present, and in some cases perhaps preferred.

"How'd your mission go?" Caitlin got back to business.

"About as well as I could be expected. I mean, we got the job done, nobody got hurt, and I didn't get fired from my other job. So I'd say it went well."

"It seems like two people did get hurt. Due to you."

"That wasn't my call." Xander replied. "I didn't want to do it. And it's not like they're permanently hurt or anything."

"But, you enjoyed it. Didn't you?"

Xander let out a breath audibly. He did at that. He had to admit that to himself, if no other. He enjoyed wiping that condescending arrogant look off of their faces.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"Xander. It's a hard thing, what you do. And what you're doing here isn't made easier by you having to lie to the people you care about."

Caitlin had gotten to the heart of the matter in a fairly quick time. Funny that.

"I guess."

"So what's really bothering you? That you don't trust them? That they don't trust you? Or that they shouldn't trust you."

"It's not about trust."

"Really. It seems like you have quite a thing about loyalty. You certainly inspire a great deal of it in your team."

"I guess. But, what about my loyalty to my friends?"

"That's something you're going to have to decide for yourself. What's more important? Your loyalty to your friends or your need to protect them."

"And those have to be in conflict?"

Dr. Farmiga smiled. "Is that a question or a statement."

"I don't know. It's just that, sometimes the goal ends up conflicting with my loyalties."

"And what is the goal?"

"Saving the world. Fighting the good fight and all that."

"The whole reason you went down there was to save them from themselves. And it looks like you did that. So why are you beating yourself up over it?"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to be figuring out?" Xander smiled, one that didn't reach his eye. "I guess I just feel like I'm betraying them."

"Bringing them in is better for them though, right?" The psychiatrist responded. "So they're better off. So why feel guilty?"

"It's pretty patronizing. And, I'm lying to them."

"Which you've done before." Dr. Farmiga checked her notes. "To stop Angelus from unleashing Acaltha. And you didn't feel really guilty about that."

"Yeah, but that was different. I didn't have this vague feeling of superiority." Xander looked down. "It felt too good going back. Kicking ass."

"And you don't think you should have? The way I see it, you've changed from the kid you were. And they didn't see it. Why should you feel badly about how much you've changed. It's a change for the better."

"Maybe. But, that doesn't make _me_ feel any better."

"And that's a good thing. You weren't supposed to go back home the conquering hero. That would turn most of them againt you, and they wouldn't have listened. But, you shouldn't view yourself as unimportant either. You do that, and they'll see you that way. And they wouldn't have listened then as well."

"Yeah. But, it still doesn't make me feel any better about how things went down."

"Things change. People change. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. You're going to have to accept that. And deal with it. So will they. It's their problem if they can't see that. If they meet what you try to do with hostility. You made the overture. It's up to them to accept it."

The session went on for the next twenty minutes or so. In truth, Xander was starting to feel better. He may not be the best when it came to talking about his feelings, but it was like the doctor had a sixth sense on how to bring it out of him. He actually kind of liked it, wasn't fun, but he liked it.

"So, do we hug now?" Xander grinned, getting up.

"Tell me something Xander." Dr. Farmiga said. "Why haven't you fixed your eye? Level 6 would have covered it. And despite your attempts at inconspicuousness, the patch hardly lets you blend in."

Xander's grin fell. A more serious and introspective expression took its place as he thought about the reason. It only took a moment.

"I earned this."

"Exactly. You aren't the same person as you were. And that's a good thing. Everyone, them and you included, are going to have to figure out what that means." She watched him leave after she finished speaking. His stablility wasn't really a concern. By this point, he pretty much thrived under stress. Still, she was worried. His loyalties were still divided. And given the right impetus, a man with his present skills could be most dangerous indeed.

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"His name is Shaun Anderson." Taylor Lampkin was standing at the head of the long steel table centered in the briefing room. Behind him, on the main monitor was a headshot of the subject of their current case.

"British import. Been in the country for about 20 years." Lampkin had been a commander in Desert Storm. A bad night and a turned group of marines had led to a dishonorable discharge. It's been officially classified as a case of friendly fire. Nobody believed what he had gone on record as saying what happened. It had been hushed up and he had ended up a security guard. Pretty big fall for someone that graduated near the top of his class at West Point. With the restructuring after the fall and dissolution of the Initiative, the newly appointed director was able to pull in his own people. It also meant that Grainer didn't have to play politics with the people above him. So the director had picked him specifically to lead field operations. Lampkin's leadership and strategic abilities were on par with the best of any service.

"Psychic. Giving him some minor psychokinesis. But, his main skill set lies upon magical training. He's a necromancer by trade. Apprenticed under Dulac the Red. According to our profile, he's got some decent power. About a five/four on the Django-Yutani scale. Popped up in Madrid about six months ago for that Church thing, and then in Naples a month after that. Our European allies still haven't gotten much on him after that. He's pretty low key. Zombie fighters for bloodsports. Bodyguards. Information brokering. That's his main trade. No evidence of any real ambition. The rumors now though, are that he's raising an army. That's unusual." Lampkin moved his presentation to the next picture. A crime photo. Bodies still there.

"What's left of Rossetti's in the city. Two vics. Jason Argento, the owner. And Belinda Haskill, a clerk. Local PD's calling this a robbery gone bad. Or the bad guys just decided to blow them away after they got the money. Cause of death is currently listed as under investigation. What it looks like is someone hit them with something that cooked their bodies from the inside out."

Next picture. It showed Anderson milling about the storefront.

"Traffic cam outside puts Anderson going in and out of the shop three times in the last week. Casing the joint. This was a robbery. But, it wasn't for money." Lampkin paused here. Part of him wanted to be back in the field, but he knew the best use of his skills would be leading all the teams.

"Xander, you Meyers and Wu are checking out the scene. I want to know what was taken and for what reason. And, anything else you can find out about where Anderson has gotten to." Lampkin looked over to the rest of team. "Cunningham, Winters, set up the base. We got a spot picked out near the warehouse district. Paul, anything the Church can give us. Information on the target, what he might be looking for in New York, anybody gone missing that might turn up again. That sort of thing. McMillan, supplies. Everything you'll think you'll need. An open hit like this, Anderson ain't being subtle. He's going after something big. He'll likely be bringing some heavies."

He faced the whole team. They'd do their job well. Most of them didn't have any official training, but they'd proven they could do the job just as well as or better than someone trained for it. Official watchers and slayers or not.

"You'll be meeting up with the Council's team when you're up there. Remember, we don't exist. If you need help, you make sure you're alone when you ask. And it's going to need to be invisible if we go in."

Taylor locked eyes with the field commander of the team under his overall command. A moment between.

"Right, that's it. Good luck."

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Author's Note: Basically the beginning of the next arc. Thanks for the reviews. Oh, and GargoyleSama, the Xander/Vi thing will get touched upon again. One way or another. If I think it's written well enough.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter 11: City Blue**

The small magic shop was still taped off as a crime scene. It hadn't taken much to get in. Xander, now dressed in a plain black suit as were the others, had flashed his DHS badge, and after a simple check had been allowed in. The local police may not have liked them barging in on their turf, but as they were duly appointed federal agents, the detectives didn't have much of a choice.

By this time the bodies had been removed, and the crime scene investigators from the NYPD had covered the scene. They'd only investigated the mundane aspects, so Xander and his team still had a lot of ground to cover. And they still had to pick up the Council team. Xander had wanted to check out the situation first. No ghosts this time at least.

The store's security camera had captured about five seconds of Shaun Anderson walking into the store before it dissolved into static. Magical buildup could do that. To the trained eye, it could be seen as emanating from the necromancer. The police had an APB out for Anderson, but the main help from the video to Xander and his team was the confirmation that the man responsible was who they thought it was.

"Curtis, find out what's missing. Cindy, see if you can pick up anything." Xander gave his orders. And his people carried them out. It was the easy side of leadership. The harder part came in making the right orders. Curtis had done robberies before, usually when they turned ugly. Nothing supernatural in those cases, but he should be able to come up with what had been taken now. Maybe even why. The witch would concentrate on the mystical energies that would still be affecting the area. The magic Anderson had been slinging in the store to take out the shop owner and his assistant would leave traces.

Xander concentrated on the whole picture as his team went to work. Trying to see what was out of place in the mess that the shop was left in. Despite a lack of training in investigation, either mystical or mundane, he had a knack for seeing things that others didn't. Some had suggested it was magical in nature. Or that the loss of his eye had somehow enhanced the sight of the remaining one. Or it was simple intuition. Xander didn't really know. Whatever the cause, it came in quite handy in a number of his past assignments.

It took them nearly two hours to go through the shop. Cindy had taken samples of scorched wood, damaged from pretty dangerous spells according to her opinion. Curtis had found that, in addition to all of the cash on the premises, three books were stolen. The cash was likely just a cover. Or Anderson was just greedy.

"Reinhardt's Compendium, the first volume of Drackon's Red Book, and Of Gods and Monsters Part II." Curtis was reading from the inventory he had found. Luckily, Jason Argento had been a stickler for keeping track of his stock.

"That can't be all he took." Cindy said. "Those would be useful for a necromancer, but they aren't that rare. There'd be no reason to draw this much attention to get those."

"We're missing something." Xander stated. Something was off with the room. In his mind's eye he could see how the shop should have been put together. Two connected rooms made up the store, the main one filled with ritual ingredients and artifacts and the back was lined with bookcases. It was strewn about with books and debris now. Cabinets smashed and shelves tossed to the ground. Much messier than one would expect from the wizard. Xander had read the profile, no history of any violence. Or anything more than what one would expect from a necromancer. What happened here spoke of great evil. And deep anger.

"Were Argento or Haskill users?" Xander asked. He knew that most magic shop owners were dabblers. Usually not that powerful, but they also kept their own personal stock. Stuff that wasn't for sale. And rare arcane objects can find their way into the hands of the unlikeliest of people.

"According to Smitty, they had some minor talent. Strictly academics though." Cindy put in. Her own apprenticeship had given her access to all sorts of people. Those contacts proved handy. "They might have had something useful to him."

"If they did. It was here. PD says that their apartments weren't touched. Anderson found what he was looking for here." Curtis put in.

Xander saw it. A small wooden panel set in the wall behind the main counter. It was slightly lighter than the wood around it. The way the light played off the wall from the front windows made it difficult to see. It was only because he was specifically looking for something that looked off that he had seen it in the first place. Took him long enough, but at least he had found it.

He walked behind the smashed glass counter. Lying behind it was a mess of books and a small painting, now torn. Clearly it had covered the panel. He touched the wall. It felt like wood. Only it was slightly colder than the wood next to it. Transmutation spell maybe. Or an illusion.

"Cindy. There's a something here. A safe I think. Something's making it look and feel like wood. See if you can break it, and any other defenses." Xander could see why it had been missed. Not the most powerful magic to hide objects with, but against the unwary or not paranoid it would not be noticed.

The witch concentrated on the rectangle before her. She stroked the beaded bracelet on her left wrist and sent a disruption spell at the safe. The spell struggled against the illusion spell, but soon broke. It was not a bad attempt to hide something, but still amateur level.

"Damn." Cindy said. "I should have seen that. Passive illusion spell. The energy from my initial scans was used to strengthen the illusion."

"It's alright. A full level scan would have detected it, but we didn't have the time. Not everything can be easily seen by magic. We have eyes for a reason." Xander responded. "Besides, you can't get everything. That's why you're not doing this alone."

He knew that the witch was something of a perfectionist. She'd be kicking herself over it for a while. All in all though, it wasn't that bad of a mistake.

"Just be prepared for next time." But it was still a mistake.

They could see the safe now. It was a small wall safe with a heavy steel door. On the door were etched runes, the foundations for the illusion spell. It would activate whenever the door was closed. It was currently locked. Likely the Anderson had just used his telekinesis to open it. And then closed it when he left. Odd considering the rest of the store.

"I'll try to open it." Cindy said, concentrating once again. Luckily, there were no defensive spells. She willed the safe to open. She wasn't a natural psychokinetic like their current target, but with the right spells she could achieve a small measure of the effect. After about thirty seconds, the door swung open to their view.

Curtis took a closer look inside. He noted that there was only one book inside, although the dust marks on the shelves inside suggested that there used to be more.

"The Second Book of Kulich." Curtis noted. He checked the inventory and saw that it wasn't listed. "Probably part of their personal stash. I'm thinking the first volume was taken. And maybe a smaller book."

Cindy nodded. "The First Book of Kulich is some pretty dark mojo. A historical text mainly. I haven't read it, but it's said to also contain some incantations that were used during the Vinji uprising in South America. Armies of the dead and rains of fire. That sort of thing. It's necromancy. Heavyweight."

"But, why would Anderson be after it? He's a businessman. Not a henchman." Xander thought aloud. It wasn't adding up. "I suppose he could be trying to sell it. But, he's never been in that line before."

"Why would he be so angry though?" Curtis asked his own question. "Nothing in his profile suggests excessive violence or brutality, but he microwaved the two vics. He's a teek. It would have been easier to just snap their necks."

"He has to be working for someone then. A master, not an employer. Someone's calling all the shots on this. Some extra power might have been part of the deal. Power boosts can be corrupting." Xander said. Given the facts so far, it was the likeliest scenario.

"Most wizards don't just go this far off the bend without a reason. And there's nothing in the records to indicate a stressor." Curtis nodded. "It's the most probable reason."

"If they went through this much trouble to get the First Book of Kulich, and then just leave the second volume, then it means they're not only powerful, but also supremely arrogant." The former FBI agent added. "Either they don't think they're being hunted, or they don't care."

"And on that happy note…" Xander put in. "Cindy, get back to base. Run an analysis on the samples you found. I want to know what type of spell we're dealing with and the current power level we can expect. Let's hope he hasn't gotten himself amped too much. Curtis, we need to pick up the kids."

He took one last look at the ruined store. Thoughts of the previous destroyed magic shop he had been in ran through his head. Whoever this was, they were playing for keeps.

"We need to catch this guy fast."

It really didn't need to be said.

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Author's Note: Bumpkin, I had uploaded another chapter prior to this one. I heard that some of the alerts weren't working or something.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter 12: Man of God**

"Right then." Xander said, after he had finished the debriefing on what they had found out at Rossetti's. Leaving out the part of how exactly his team had gotten in. "I think we need some introductions."

Xander was seated at the main table in the small apartment that served as their temporary headquarters. It was in a pretty rundown area so they weren't that concerned with painting the defensive wards and sigils on the walls. The rest of his team was seated as well. This time, it included Abigail. The people that the Council had sent were also there. Vi and Mary. The slayer contingent. Mary was definitely still nursing a grudge if her glare at him was any indication. Vi had a strange look on her face. The others were Eduard Ramirez and Linda Holder. Watcher and witch, respectively. Xander had worked with Eduard before. One of the trainees from the old Council, meaning stiff, but still a good man. The 20 year old girl seated next to him on the other hand, was an unknown. One of Willow's recruits. Someone that she was supposedly teaching. That probably isn't a good thing, Xander thought.

"Curtis Myers." Xander pointed to his right. "Paul Cunningham, Cindy Wu, Jack McMillan, and Abigail Winters." He continued down the line. Real names this time. He had to give them something. Although, any nonofficial background checks would just reveal the carefully sanitized identities that Level 6 had created. Accurate perhaps, but incomplete.

"Curtis and Jack are shooters. Paul and Cindy are magical support. Internal and external respectively." Xander described. "And Abby's a slayer."

The Council members sputtered at that. Kind of funny actually. Xander took some perverse pleasure with it.

"What?" Mary shouted.

"How did you…" Linda barely got out.

"That's unacceptable." Eduard flatly stated. His anger was definitely rising. They may have had a past relationship, but that didn't give him the benefit of the doubt in Eduard's opinion. "Xander, you should have brought her to us."

"Wasn't my choice." Xander retorted. "I can't just take the slayers and make them go to Cleveland."

"I'm right here you know." Abigail broke in. "I can choose for myself. And I chose to stay with Xander. Besides, from what I can see, it's a hell of a lot safer than staying with you."

She glared at the official watcher. To think that she should have to go with them simply because of something they forced on her. Duty was one thing. She'd learned that from her father and her two brothers. But, what the Watchers wanted was something else.

"Guys. We can settle this later." Xander said loudly to get their attention. He fixed his gaze on the field watcher. "I'm sure you'll put it in your report. Just remember to add that not all slayers answer to the Council. Maybe you should be glad that I'm the one that found her."

Eduard nodded. From the looks of things, this Abby was safe enough with Xander. It wasn't the ideal situation, but it was workable if Abby had been combat trained. And wouldn't go rogue.

"We've been working together for the last 8 months or so." Xander continued mixing truth with lies. "I recruited Abby myself. But, my benefactors, who for now will remain nameless, gathered the rest from different sources. They supply us with equipment and intel; pretty much anything we need. We also have some backup teams if we find the job too great."

"Alright." Eduard said. "This is Violet and Mary. _Our_ slayers. And Linda. A witch. I'm a watcher."

He purposely kept the introductions short. Mercenaries by definition worked for money. They had no loyalty and could only be counted upon to follow their contracts. That Xander had been working with the same group for so long meant that they may have loyalty to themselves and their leader, but he couldn't be sure. And he wouldn't give more than necessary.

"Right. Mingle amongst yourselves. There are food and drinks in the fridge." Xander said lightheartedly. "I need to make some calls."

After Xander had gone into one of the bedrooms and closed the door, the remaining people broke into their respective specialties and started to talk.

"So, what's it like working with Xander?" Vi asked. She already knew, but wanted to give Mary an idea of how things worked from another slayer.

"It's really good." Abby nearly gushed. "I mean, we get to fight the bad guys and get paid for it. And Xander gets us the best of everything we need. We have help for anything really big and the best medical help if we get hurt."

"It can't beat the Council though." Mary retorted. "They have the best training. They've been doing it for hundreds of years. What can Xander really offer?"

"Well, it's not like he's completely new." Vi added. "He did work with Buffy and even Giles in Sunnydale before you guys even knew that demons existed. Did you know he caused the original split in the slayer line?"

Mary was taken slightly aback at that. She had heard that before the Great Calling, there had been multiple slayers. Which was why there were two head slayers. The way it was told now was that Angel had led Xander down to the Hellmouth when Buffy had gone to face the Master. She never thought that Xander had actually contributed anything in that incident.

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"So, what's your level?" Cindy asked. She had heard some things about Willow. Knowing Xander, she knew that it had been a lot worse than what he had described. She didn't know what to expect from someone that the former dark witch had a hand in training.

"My what?" Linda said, confused. She'd been part of the Wiccan community in Cleveland. About six months ago she'd been attacked by vampires and rescued by the Cleveland housed slayers. Given her talent, she'd been shipped off to South America to train.

"Django-Yutani scale." Cindy stated. "It's the international skill and power ranking system for magic users. You know, magical proficiency level? I'm a 6.5/6. I'm hoping to hit 6.75/6.5 next year. There are some great training manuals from Tibet that Xander got his hands on. I'm already hitting triple streams on my throughput."

She was clearly excited. Magic had been a part of her life from the beginning. She loved her gift. It was hard for her to fathom someone willingly going bad. Magic was magic. It was only corrupting when one took on more power than one was prepared for. A martial artist learned discipline before anything else. The same held for the true witch. Going dark was an excuse. A way to justify one's dark desires and the actions to make them come about. To wield the power to take life with a thought and a flick of the hand was an awesome responbility. Not to be taken lightly. If there was one thing she'd learned from her any of her numerous teachers was that control was everything. All magic had to flow from that, or it would consume the user. No one ever got addicted to magic. They got addicted to the power.

"I…I've never even heard of that." Linda was getting more confused. She was a Wiccan. Combat magic wasn't her forte. In truth, most of what she had learned from Willow was defensive spells as well as some background on what magic meant. Or was supposed to mean.

"Really? I brought some books. You want to look through them?" Cindy never gave up a chance to discuss magic.

"Sure." Linda smiled. A lot of the time she felt out of her depth. Willow and some of the other witches were so powerful. She felt like a kid playing with grownups when it came to magic. At least Cindy didn't seem as patronizing as Willow could.

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"So. How're the wife and kids?" Eduard asked.

"Good. Good." Curtis replied. He was a bit surprised that one of his best friends from college was a part of this world. He covered it well though. Their contact had dropped off in later years, especially after Curtis' troubles in the Bureau, but they still exchanged the yearly Christmas cards. His higher-ups would have to be informed.

"How's Cheryl?" Curtis continued, asking after Eduard's girlfriend.

"She's good. She's in this now. Research mainly." Eduard wasn't sure exactly what he should be doing. Giles had warned him about what was going on. How Xander was leading a group of mercenaries. That they might pose a threat to what they were trying to achieve. But, Robin had told him to be fair. The one-eyed man may not have had the most experience or the best skills, but he scored high on dependability according to the head field watcher. His own experiences with the man had furthered that belief.

"This legit?" Eduard continued. He knew that his friend, despite the rather perfunctory nature of their current relationship, would not lie to him. The man was former FBI. He wasn't one to go hunting for just money.

"As legit as it's going to get. You're working your own secret organization yourself. So I wouldn't start throwing stones."

"Fair enough."

Eduard wasn't sure what he should report. He wouldn't say anything about his previous relationship with one of the members of Xander's group. Nor would he reveal anything about the man's background. He may be a Watcher, but he was still a man.

Paul and Jack were in the back, leaning against the counter in the small kitchen. They could hear some of the conversations, but weren't getting involved in any.

"How do ye think it looks?" Jack asked. Xander had told him not to say too much. To try to blend in the background. Too much digging in his background wouldn't help their cause. Especially with an Englishman running things on the other side.

"As well as can be expected." Paul replied. His loyalties were to Xander and the Order. He wasn't that interested in getting involved with yet another group of fighters. Though it was something he'd have to tolerate. In some ways he felt as if he was getting farther and farther away from home. His belief system had been thoroughly tested in his time with his new commander. He trusted Xander, and would follow him, but there were a number of things that they did not agree on. Paul followed, as was his duty to. He only hoped that with at least some of the truth coming out, they wouldn't have to keep making the hard decisions. It was odd how things worked out sometimes, he thought. Of the members of the A-Team, only Paul and Jack were Catholics. That drew them together in some ways. But, while one had become a warrior of God, the other had become a terrorist. He didn't know quite how to feel about that.

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Xander walked out of his bedroom.

"Father McAllister's come through for us. He's got some intel. We're going to meet him at his church in twenty minutes. Time to go."

Xander grabbed his bag, while the others prepared to get ready. This was the first time that the two groups would be working with each other, and he was a bit nervous. They were getting along at least. A small blessing.

He observed how the different teams prepared. His spell slinger had her own bag of gear, along with some magical apparatuses that she wore as jewelry. Xander knew that Linda did not have anything innately magical with her. A telepathic message from Cindy had confirmed it earlier. The men in his unit were all packing sidearms in shoulder or hip holsters. Their larger weapons and other items were in black bags that they were now checking. His slayer had a small gun at the small of her back and a kukri that was strapped to her back beneath her coat. Extendible daggers with wood inlays on her wrists completed her personal weaponry. He knew that Eduard would be packing a .45. One of the rare members of the Council that used guns. Xander also knew that it hadn't been used that much. Something he had become a bit worried about. Mary was equipped with a small sword, a stake, and a dagger. Standard slayer gear. Vi, on the other hand, was secretly packing a twin to the gun that Abby had as well as two daggers, one wood and one silver plated steel.

Night had fallen by the time they had walked outside. They split up into two cars, parked, somewhat miraculously, right in front of the building. A rented SUV and a rented passenger car. Black. The standard color for covert ops teams the world over. Curtis took up the driver's position in the SUV with Xander riding shotgun. Paul directed the Council team to the back of the SUV while he and Jack got into the other car. Their gear was split between the two cars, to make sure that if they did get separated, they would be able to fend off an attack.

They started off, on their way to the church, and hopefully on their way to some answers. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Some focused on the future, some on what they had just learned about each other, and some on the past. They drove in silence for almost twenty blocks.

Xander was watching the people on the street. Some streetwalkers, a couple of workers on their way home from the late shift. Drug dealers. A girl looking lost. A guy on the street, watching people go by. Not saints or sinners. Just people.

"Turn here." Xander said. Curtis complied, though he was curious. The car behind followed their unplanned move. They traveled about half a block.

"Stop the car." Xander looked behind him. The people in the back looked confused. He got out of the car, as did the rest. He waited for the pair from the other vehicle to catch up.

"Jack, wait with the others. Paul, shotty. Mary, Vi, Eduard, you're with me."

"What's going on?" Eduard asked. Meanwhile, the rest were getting prepared. Paul had taken off his jacket, and pulled a sawed off shotgun from its bag in the trunk of his car, still keeping it hidden inside. He looked around, noticing that no one was there. Pulling the whippet strap to his shoulder, he put his jacket back on. Given the length of both, the gun was all but invisible. Xander had taken out his sidearm and loaded a magazine of subsonic rounds. He followed this by threading a suppressor onto the gun.

"Vampire." Abigail said. She had sensed the vampire that Xander had seen. The guy on the street. It wasn't something that all slayers could do. Just as not every man is the same, not every slayer has the same skills, or to the same degree. The ability to sense the supernatural was something that Abby could do especially well.

"How did you-" Mary tried to ask. She was confused by how Xander could have sensed that.

"Questions later." Xander said. He made sure his black jacket was unbuttoned and placed his gun back into his modified hip holster. It wouldn't be easily seen. "The rest of you, watch the cars. C'mon."

Xander started towards where he had seen the vampire, Paul forming up behind him with Vi. Eduard and Mary followed.

By the time Xander had reached the point where he had saw the vampire, the demon had moved into a side alley, leading a pretty party girl down it. Weird, Xander thought. The glimpse of the vampire he had gotten had not shown a particularly handsome or well-dressed man. Might be psychic powers. Or some of other gimmick. He'd have to do this fast.

He walked to the alley and adopted a drunken swagger. A classic con. One that still worked well.

"Heeeeey, maaaan. You seen my carrrrrr?" Xander slurred. He was weaving back and forth, drawing attention away from his right hand and the gun it now held. And to distract the vampire from the rest of the hunters close behind. Though he'd told them to stay near the mouth of the alley and not draw attention.

"Get the hell out of here." The vampire growled. He was holding his prey in front of him, but had not yet taken a drink. He turned back.

By this time, Xander had walked right up to him. He grabbed the vampire. "Heeey. I asked you where my car was."

The vampire pushed the girl against the wall, getting angry.

"Screw you." The vampire said, shoving the irritating one-eyed guy away. Cripple shouldn't have a driver's license, the demon thought.

Xander extended his arm, and fired twice, centermass. The two rounds, from less than two feet away hit almost immediately; the vampire never noticed the gun until he was already hit. The two frangible bullets split upon impact and sent wooden splinters into cold flesh. Less than a second and all that was left of the vampire was dust. It was closer than Xander liked, and in truth, kind of stupid, but with the girl, he didn't have many options.

"Get the hell out of here." Xander shouted at the scared girl against the wall, not taking his eyes off the alley. "And don't go out alone at night."

He walked forward, doing a sweep of the alleyway, while the others moved in, the potential victim running past them. He bent down, picking up his brass. In the relatively tight space, it didn't take long. Technically speaking, he didn't have to. They couldn't be tracked back to him, but there weren't that many 5.7 mm bullets on the streets, and the cops could start digging into things they shouldn't.

While not completely silenced, nor even turned into a whistling sound as the movies often portrayed, the two shots were nearly quiet. Even if somebody had heard the shots, given the area, the cops wouldn't be called. They had some time.

"It's clear. Let's go." Xander said, turning to the people coming in. He didn't notice as a shadow peeled itself off the wall. He did when it jumped onto his back.

It tried to get a hold onto his neck, but Xander quickly moved back and to the side, slamming the demon hard against the wall. It let go. He quickly turned and sent an elbow into the dark scaled head of the Shadique demon that was attacking him. It moved back stunned. Xander followed it up with a quick kick to the demon's stomach. By now, the demon was thoroughly disoriented. It hadn't been expecting the attacks, having had the surprise.

Paul had already pulled his shotgun, but couldn't get a clear shot. He waited. Xander moved back, and Paul moved in to fire.

"No." Xander said, putting his arm up. "Mary, take care of this."

He wanted to see a new Council slayer in action for real. No sparring. Shadiques were unique in their shifting ability. Able to blend into shadows no matter the size. They could only shift out and back in every half hour or so though, so this one was sticking around for a while. They were also a bit stronger than humans, but all in all, not too tough.

Mary was a bit surprised, by Xander's moves as well as his command. But, she was never one to pass up a chance to fight. The slayer moved in, more carefully than she would have done two weeks ago. Before she had fought Xander.

The Shadique was starting to recover so she pressed the attack. A stake towards its face followed by a roundhouse kick to the stomach. But, the demon was more cautious now. It ducked under the stake, letting it fly over, and pushed the slayer's leg down. It leapt forward onto the slayer, pinning her to the ground. Mary dropped the stake. She hadn't brought the sword with her. Something she was regretting now.

Angry, the slayer got her legs up and kicked the thick, heavily muscled demon off of her. It slammed hard into the wall of the alley. She kipped up and pulled her dagger. She moved in fast and stabbed it in the throat.

Gurgling, the demon tried to pull the dagger out as it slid down the wall. It was dead by the time it reached the ground.

It was pretty sloppy, in Xander's opinion. Even surprised, it hadn't taken too much to get the demon off his back, and even the vampire killer rounds he was packing in his sidearm would have put the demon down.

"Decent." He said. "It's dead, you walk away. So it's a win."

Mary glared at Xander. Even she was angry with her performance. She didn't need his patronizing attitude.

"What'd you learn in Slayer academy?" Xander continued. There was some style to Mary's moves, but much was aimed at following a particular ingrained action. They'd been drilled. But, it didn't seem like much more than that.

"They taught me to fight. _Sir._" Mary still had attitude. This was her place. She didn't have to take this.

"Taught to fight?" Xander questioned. "Way of the demon is, taught to kill. That way they meet some slayer taught to fight; they send her soul to hell."

Zen of Robert Scott. Sometimes even works of fiction contain truth. He wasn't that great a fighter himself. Above average, especially against humans. Against vampires, demons, and slayers, he was usually outclassed one way or another. Course, that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. Rabbit punches. Fish hooking. Small joint manipulation. Nothing sacred. Nothing held back. It was why he usually won.

"Let's go." He continued. The Shadique body had already dissolved, one of the few types to do so. It made cleanup easier. Though, the slayer had lost her dagger.

Xander walked out of the alleyway. Paul and Vi walking behind him putting away their weapons. Mary and Eduard were still a bit stunned. Mary, by the words, Eduard, by how effective Xander had been. The guy that had never even went to college, never studied at any Watcher training school or course, had been more effective than any field watcher he had ever seen.

Mary jogged to catch up with Xander. Her opinion of the guy was definitely changing. She only needed things beaten into her a couple of times.

"How'd you know he was a vampire?" Mary asked, remembering that Xander had been the one to mark the demon. Something even she hadn't been able to do until they were right next to him. Though the game face on the thing helped some.

"In the city, there is always a reflection. In the woods, always a sound." Xander said, directly quoting this time. Ironic though, considering it was a vampire. He kept walking, not looking at the girl that was now next to him. "Side mirror."

"What about the desert?" Mary asked, remembering the man's travels. It was a coincidence, she hadn't seen the movie.

Xander looked at her now.

"You don't want to be in the desert." It was a throwaway line, meant to have some profound meaning hinting at dark times in the past. That was a movie. It didn't really mean anything. This was reality. Xander knew what it really meant. You walk into the desert; you shed more of yourself than just your body's water.

They reached the car. Jack and company were still there, waiting.

"Everything's clear, let's go." Xander ordered. Everyone got back into their cars. Mary had much to think of on the car ride to the church. There were no more interruptions.

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The church was mostly empty. Ornately decorated and housing many long pews, the atmosphere could touch even the most jaded of spirits. Sitting in the front pew, were Father McAllister and another man.

Xander walked in, with the rest of his group, making their down the long center aisle. Paul made the sign of the cross on the way down.

"My son." The priest said. He hugged Paul as the knight came close. "It's been too long."

"Yes. The fight has kept me very busy." It had been many over a year since Paul had seen the old priest.

Xander felt a bit uncomfortable. As a kid, his parents had taken him to church on Sundays. Lip service to the lord while they spent most of their free time drunk. After he had fallen in with Buffy and company, the notion of God and the Devil had become a bit more real. He didn't know if he believed, but he knew that there was something greater up there. And he was pretty sure that whatever it was, it really didn't care about humanity. It just didn't want the dark to get its hands on them all.

"You called me?" Xander said, trying to get to the reason for their visit.

"Ah yes, Alexander. This is Raoul Diego. He is one of the parishioners. He oversees our Feed the Homeless Program." The priest responded.

"Yes. I've noticed a large decrease in the amount of people coming in." Raoul said. "I've asked around and according to some of the people, a lot of them are just disappearing at night."

"Any particular area?" Curtis asked.

"Yes. Near the warehouse district." Raoul answered. "We have told the police, but the homeless, they are not a big priority for them."

"Right. Is there anything else that you think can help?" Xander asked. "Anything at all?"

Raoul shook his head.

"Alright." Xander pulled his card out of his pants pocket. It just had his first name on it, along with his cell phone number. He gave it to Raoul.

"If you can think of anything else, no matter how insignificant, call me." Xander knew that it wasn't much, but it was a start at least. He turned to the people behind him.

"Let's go. Next stop."

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The black lacquered bowl was filled with deep red blood. A small yellow flame was floating above it.

"I have the book, master." Shaun knelt in front of the bowl and the small altar on which it rested. He was dressed in a white linen robe, his chest exposed, showing the sigil cut into it. It was fresh, and still bleeding. A bloody knife lay next to him.

"The path is clear." He continued.

"All is not well." A deep voice sounded, sending vibrations through the blood. "There are forces at work against us."

"Show them to me. I will strike them down in your name." The necromancer was eager to please. Not fearful however, only respectful.

"Not yet, servant. The time is not yet right. To tip our hand too early would let them get too close. We are not ready."

"Then what is my next task?"

"The sacrifice. She needs to be found soon. She is here, in this very city waiting for you. Seek her out, and take her here."

The flame blinked out.

"By your command, my goddess."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter 13: Man of Stone**

Author's Note: With the recent problem with e-mails, I think some of the updates didn't get their notices sent out. I actually had chapters 11-12 uploaded before this which may not have had their updates sent out. So you might want to go back a couple of chapters if you haven't read them.

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The warehouse district didn't hold much. Besides the obvious. There were some homeless though. With nowhere really to go, they had to stomach the risk of ending up like how the others did, whatever it was.

Currently, the mixed team was working their way through. Questioning whomever would talk to them. It also let Xander let drop some money, however much help it would be, he didn't know. Or what it would be used for. But, it was something. And proved that he still had some kind of heart.

It was odd. To have to drive away and then back to the place where they might find some information. But, McAllister had insisted. And he'd seen the priest pass something to Paul on the way out. Probably Church related and important to drag them there, so he didn't bother trying to find out.

Xander was in the middle of talking to a fifty year old man who looked like he was ten years older. They were around the ubiquitous burning trashcan. It's flickering light cast a rather depressing glow on their surroundings.

"So this guy you said, just took them off, and they never came back?" Xander asked. Pounding the pavement. That was what they called it on those old police shows. Xander idly wondered why they weren't preyed upon by vampires. Maybe it was the smell, he thought.

"Yeah, that's what I said, didn't I?" The man responded. There was something off-putting about chatting with a guy with one eye, but he wanted to find his friends.

"You got a name?"

"Max. Just Max. Young guy. Maybe 25. Sleazy looking. White guy. Slicked black hair. Maybe 5'5".

"Okay. Any idea where I can find him?"

"Comes by every so often. Picks up some guys, promises them money. I thought it was for those bum fights you hear about."

"But, these guys don't come back." Xander frowned. It didn't have to mean a thing. Could have nothing at all to do with their case. A wild goose chase. A dead end. A bad lead. Or it could be the one thread that would lead to everything.

"Yeah."

"Right." It was a good enough lead to follow in the end. Only lead they had to so far. Xander slipped the man a hundred bucks.

"Thanks." The man pocketed the money. Yup, definitely a weird guy.

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It must be his lucky night. Xander watched as a van was being loaded up. The man helping some old guys in shabby clothes was a young guy. Maybe 25. White. Sleazy looking.

"Think that's him?" Curtis asked. The groups had reformed. Cindy and Linda had gone back to base to check out the stuff from Rossetti's. Jack and Paul were following up on the other leads they had gotten. Didn't prove as promising as the first, but they still had to be thorough. Vi had gone with them. That left him with his second in command, two of the slayers, and Eduard. They were seated in the passenger car parked down the block. Xander snapped a few shots on a digital camera from his pack. He uploaded it to the Level 6 support guys. He'd have an identity in a few minutes. Those guys were geeks, but they knew their stuff.

"Looks the part. And it is suspicious, unless he's trying to do the all bum revue of Oklahoma." Xander said. "Although."

"Right. Think we should take him now?" Curtis asked. He no longer rolled his eyes at Xander's dumb jokes.

"No. I want to see where they're going."

The van pulled away, and Curtis pulled out after them. The one car following another thing doesn't really happen. A full cover would have involved at least four cars at a single time, with alternates coming in so the target wouldn't get suspicious. With the tagalong gang there, Xander didn't get that. He got one car. It was like something out of Bullitt, Xander thought. He hoped it wouldn't end like it either.

They followed, luckily again, Max wasn't all that watchful of anything behind him. None of the standard "Am I being tailed?" tricks. After about fifteen minutes, he pulled up at a small rundown apartment building. Condemned. Clearly not a place to put on the late night showing of Oklahoma.

There was a message on his PDA. Xander looked at it and read through the profile that was displayed on it. His boys had come through.

"Anthony Maxwell Lowry. Aka Max. Small time crook. B and e, armed robbery, some leg work for bigger fish. He's henchmen class. Looks like our guy."

A man, dressed in a suit, got out of the building, and walked up to the van. Clearly not the sort of guy that lived in this type of area. Xander saw this from his seat in the car, parked further up the street. Either these guys weren't that cautious, or he just expected everyone to be as paranoid as he was. Xander snapped a picture of the new guy as well, uploading it to his support.

The six men in the back walked out of the van and into the building. The man in the suit and "Max" were talking at the front. An envelope was passed, likely money.

"Alright. You take the van. Let him get up a ways and then take him. He might know something. I'm going in and getting the suit. And his merchandise. Be back in 15 minutes, two doors down. Eduard, you and Mary are coming with me. Abby stay with Curtis."

Xander slipped out of the car with the watcher and his watchee. He took his bag with him. No scattergun this time. It was going to be up close and personal and he didn't want to risk hitting one of the innocents. He had loaded his five-seven with a different type of frangible bullet. Silver pellet loads. Alternated with armor piercing rounds. A mag of that would put damn near anything down.

After the van had taken off and Curtis had followed, Xander went to the building, the others close behind. It wasn't very stealthily, but speed was key in this case. He watched through the still open front door as they went into the third room down the main hall. 3A. Evidently, professionalism wasn't the byword for the night.

He walked closer to the door, and motioned his backup against the wall. They made their way down the hall silently, staying away from the center where loose boards may give them away. Xander checked the door to the apartment. It was halfway rotted through. A simple kick would bring it down. Even more luck. He stood in front of it. And kicked it in, rushing through. He brought his gun up, searching for a target.

What he found, was nothing. It was luck. Of a different sort.

"Damn it." Xander growled. In front of him was an exhausted magic circle. Teleport-out only. Clearly, the man in the suit had an exit strategy.

Xander ran a quick search through the room. There was nothing. It was a sterile jump site. Somewhere out of the way to set up a circle. Nothing more. He didn't want to think about what the poor tricked bastards would be going through.

"C'mon. There's nothing here." Xander said. He walked to the front door. He noted that Curtis was back. He pulled out his cell phone and called his partner.

"Got him?" Xander asked.

"Yeah." Curtis replied, picking up after the first ring. "How about you?"

"They got away. Magic circle. Bring the guy in here. 3A." He hung up.

By time Curtis and Abby brought the flesh broker in, Xander had already set up. A chair found in the next apartment over, a couple of pairs of handcuffs, and a knife from his bag. He just hoped that Max had information. Otherwise six men would likely have died and he would have just given up some more of his soul, all for nothing.

"Sit down." Curtis shoved Max into the chair. Xander walked behind and handcuffed him to it, wrists to chair legs. He glared at the man in the chair.

Curtis saw the expression on Xander's face and walked over.

"We need to talk." Curtis whispered into Xander's ear. He pulled his partner into the small bedroom connected to the main room.

"What happened?" Curtis asked in a quiet voice.

"Screwed up. We should have just grabbed Max when we saw him. The guy had teleported them all away before we even got in the room."

"You made the right call. It's not your fault."

"I know that. Doesn't make it right." Xander shook his head. Then looked at his partner. "And I don't need you to lecture me. I've been through this before. More than you have."

"Xander…" Curtis didn't need to be reminded. The younger man had lost more true allies than the former then current government agent had ever known.

"Forget it. Let's go to work."

The rest of the group, including Curtis stood back, against the wall. Xander would do this alone. It was his responsibility, as was the previous failure.

"Who did you meet?" Xander asked.

"Like I'm going to tell you." Max sneered. "You ain't getting nothing from me pig."

Xander took out his knife and shoved it underneath Max's right kneecap. School of Jack Bauer. It had its moments. Max screamed.

"Who said we were cops?" Xander growled. He twisted it, and pulled it out.

"Who is he?" Xander shouted, pulling the screaming man's head back by his hair. "Don't make me ask again."

"I don't know. I don't know. He bailed me out of the joint a month ago. Called himself Vinge. Said he had some work for me. I didn't ask." Max screamed.

"You didn't care." Xander stated coldly. "You want to live? What else? Or do you want some more iron in your diet?"

"I followed him once. He works out of a bar. Club Zero. That's all I know." Max panted in pain.

"Good." Torture as SOP was not a good idea. People under torture usually talked. If what they were saying was the truth was another matter. But, in this case, Xander knew it worked. He'd seen it in Max's eyes, as clichéd as that may have seemed. Sometimes the worst ways were the best ways.

Xander walked over to where he had set his bag down, putting away his knife. Inside was a small five shot revolver. .22. Throwaway piece. He pulled out another small bag and put on a pair of latex gloves. Then he opened the first bag and pulled the gun out.

"Wait. Wait." Max screamed when he saw the gun. "You said you'd let me live."

Xander walked up to him. He had been extremely careful. He had even worn gloves when he loaded the gun.

"I know." Xander said, coldly. "I lied."

Xander shot him. Twice. In the face. He tossed the gun into the corner and retrieved his handcuffs. He knew that he hadn't touched anything else in the room that would pick up prints. Technically speaking, they weren't supposed to go after targets of opportunity. Humans ones anyway. Which was why Xander used a clean piece.

Curtis and Abby didn't react. They didn't like what Xander had done, but they understood why. Curtis especially. He saw the look on his leader's face. It may have started with an emotional response, but the decision hadn't been due to that. It couldn't, not in the line of work they were in. Wasn't the right, it was the needed one.

Mary and Eduard were stunned silent. Didn't last for long though.

"What was that?" Eduard nearly screamed.

"How could you?" Mary followed up, actually screaming.

"What? Guy was a scumbag peddling flesh. As bad as any vampire. I'm supposed to let him walk for that?" Xander asked. He knew that his execution, or murder depending on the perspective, wouldn't go over well with the Council. But, they needed to learn this.

"He was human!" Mary shouted. Buffy 2.0. She may be getting some real world experience, but in regards to the realities of stopping evil, it wasn't much.

"Yeah. It just makes him easier to kill." Xander replied coolly, looking at the two. "Look. This isn't some game. You let him walk, and there's going to be another load of bodies. You want to be responsible for that?"

Mary and Eduard couldn't meet his eye.

"We don't have time for this. Curtis, get me a location on Club Zero. If we're lucky we can catch Mr. Wizard there. The victims may still be alive." Xander continued, getting his pack and walking to the door.

"We can discuss the moral flexibilities of the job after we stop this thing." Xander said over his shoulder.

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Club Zero. It wasn't much of a place. The Bronze, for the skeezy set. Which would help them get in. It hadn't taken much for Xander to find the place. And only slightly longer to get his people into place.

Xander and some of his team, along with the Council's crew had set up a few buildings down from the bar. He had come up with the plan on the drive over. Quick thinking was becoming a talent for him.

"The subject is one Raymond Vinge. That's from DMV records. Bar owner of Club Zero. There's nothing else. No record, and nothing on him as a player. Either he's really good, or he's small time. Or just plain new. Either way, we're going to need to go in now.

Cindy. I want an astral sweep. Nothing invasive, just let me know what kind of magical defenses he's got. Curtis and I are going through the back. Paul, you Jack and Abby cause a distraction in the front. You'll have the kickoff. Ed, you keep your people here. We'll need a clear line out in case things go south."

Xander didn't want to have the Council going in with him. After what he had just done he couldn't trust them not to be twitchy. He hadn't liked what he'd done, but it had been a long time since he had done anything he liked. It was another mad dog off the street though. Which was good, but he didn't delude himself into thinking that it was the right thing to do. It hadn't been part of fighting the good fight. It was vengeance. Some of it from his anger at himself for screwing up, though intellectually he knew that it hadn't been his fault. The rest of it was from the notion of letting Max go. He'd seen the victims of those that were let go. Teresa. Jenny Calendar. And if it meant his own soul, it was a choice he'd make. Not gladly. But, he'd do it. Loyalty, above all. It had started with his girls. His family. But, given the threats they now faced, it had extended to all of humanity. Well, not all of it. But, Xander believed that there was still some of it that deserved to be saved. There had to be.

Cindy closed her eyes, leaving her body. Her astral body floated out of the SUV she was seated in and floated towards the bar. A quick check of the exterior and there was no evidence of any defensive spellwork. She floated through the walls into the main bar. A few odd non-humans were visible through their auras, but the young witch focused on a glowing barrier that surrounded the upper office. It wasn't much of a defensive spell, but she wouldn't be able to crack it without setting it off. A purely mundane incursion was the only option. She went around to the back and exited the building. She noticed slightly glowing blue lines, signifying power cables. She could see the security cameras. A quick spell and they were set on a loop. It'd last for the next quarter of an hour.

When she got back, Xander was still talking.

"I don't care if you protest Ed. I'm in command, it's my call." Xander said brusquely. "You can either follow it or you can walk away now. Or maybe that's what you want to do. As far as we know, he's human. So it's not like he's just about to murder those six guys. Right?"

It was petty. And mean. But, right here and now, it was just about the only thing that would get through to the White Hats.

"Alright, we'll wait here." Eduard replied. He didn't like Xander's cold execution of the man that he had tortured, but Eduard couldn't completely disregard the feeling that the rogue hunter was right. "But, this is going in my report."

Xander ignored the last bit.

"There's a magical barrier around the office. It prevents magical eavesdropping only. If he set it himself then he doesn't have that much power. Or it's a decoy to hide how much juice he really has. There were cameras around back, but they're taken care of for the next 15 minutes." Cindy reported. "I also noticed some traces of recent spellwork. Either the guy's ported here, or someone just did some magic."

"Okay. Let's go." Xander said. He picked up his bag and started walking down the street, keeping to the shadows. Curtis followed.

They reached the alley in back of the club in less than a minute. There was a small set of stairs leading to the back door of the office. They stayed at the bottom.

"Ball's in play. Twenty seconds." Paul's voice came in through the earpiece Xander had placed in his ear back at the car. He could hear the ruckus that Paul and Jack were getting into. Apparently over the teenage girl they had met. Never mind that they were both almost old enough to be her father. When he heard the bouncers get involved, and the fight start, Xander motioned to Curtis. They pulled on black balaclavas and started up the stairs. Xander covered.

Curtis checked the door. Unfortunately, it was tight against the ground. No place for a fiber optic camera. They'd have to do it the hard way, he thought. Curtis was able to pick the lock in less than thirty seconds, but didn't open the door. Xander came up close, preparing the UMP45 that he had chosen for this part of the mission. If there was anything big inside he wanted something with a bit more power than the handgun he carried. With Curtis now covering him with an MP5, Xander carefully opened the door and pushed it open.

A beat. Nobody came close to investigate. The two men slipped in a bit to investigate, covering the room with their weapons. It was a huge office. A large desk was set near the back, facing towards the front and away from them. Along the walls were bookshelves that Xander could tell housed some old texts along with some seemingly magical paraphernalia. The lights were off, with strategically placed candles casting the only light.

Xander was lucky once again. The six men were tied to eyelets mounted to the floor before the desk. Around them was another magic circle. Xander could identify that it was one used for invocations. It was a sacrifice. The unknown was planning on conjuring something up. Something big if he was using six men. A small altar was set next to it with a large leatherbound book open upon it.

Xander looked at Raymond, now clad in a white linen robe, was on the phone at the desk. He was yelling at his security team to get rid of the trouble makers outside. Apparently, Paul and Jack were still there. And had interrupted the ritual.

Xander crouched low. They were less than ten feet from Vinge, who had his back turned to them. Lucky night. Xander transferred his submachine gun to his left hand as he quietly pulled a M-26 taser from a holster on his belt. He waited until Raymond had set down the phone and then fired twin barbs from the stun weapon which struck Vinge, sending him convulsing to the floor. Xander closed in quickly, making sure the magic user was really out. The nervous systems of wizards and witches could be altered. Some were immune to the effects of such weapons. Raymond Vinge was not one of them.

Xander motioned Curtis over to free the now ex-sacrifices. He turned back to Vinge. A man in his mid thirties, he did not seem the type to coldly murder six men. But, looks could be deceiving. Xander pulled out a pair of handcuffs, these etched with runes to prevent a wizard from opening them magically or telekinetically. They didn't work on more powerful magic users, but he hoped they'd work. He then picked the stunned man up in a fireman's carry and followed Curtis, who by then had already freed the kidnapped men, out the door.

"Dope him. I need to check out the office."

He still had five minutes. Leaving the unconscious bar owner with Curtis, Xander went back up. He give the room a quick once over, making sure that he smudged the chalk circle and grabbed the open book on the altar. From the etchings on the open pages, it wasn't something good. Checking out the shelves, Xander could identify the normal texts that moderately powerful dark practitioners had. On the desk was a laptop. Probably code locked, but Level 6 had hackers. He took that, along with the day planner. There was nothing else of interest.

With less than a minute on Cindy's spell left, Xander quickly set a couple of incendiary charges and placed them on the shelves. He gave one last glance to the room, and left, closing the door behind him.

He met up with Curtis, who was covering the still unconscious Vinge, despite his chemically induced state. They walked down the alley, away from the cameras' view. Xander made a phone call.

"C, I need you to isolate the office. Full containment around the barrier, airtight. I'm lighting it up. Let me know when it's set."

It only took the experienced witch a minute to weave the spell. "It's set, you can proceed."

"That's a go." Xander blew the radio-controlled detonators on his planted explosives. It wasn't long before the room was engulfed in flames, destroying all of the magical items in the office. The fire would burn itself out quickly with only the air still in the room as fuel. Once it was gone, it would burn itself out. The possibility of a backdraft was something he'd have to accept. But, the spell would last long enough for the room to cool down, so it wasn't a big risk.

"Let's go." Xander said to Curtis. He picked up the wizard again, carrying him quickly to their parked cars. He was gagged and placed in the trunk of the passenger car as the teams packed up their vehicles. He noted that Mary didn't look particularly happy about being left out. Her desire to get into the fight overrode her disapproval of Xander's previous actions. Eduard just looked at him. A blank expression on his face. Maybe it meant understanding. Or maybe it meant that he'd do his best to bring him down.

What had just happened could ultimately mean nothing. There might not be a link to Shaun Anderson. But, a couple of scumbags were gone, never to prey upon the helpless. And six were saved that night. Not a bad night's work, if only for a tangent.

A man walked up dressed in shabby clothes before Xander could get in.

"Alexander. We need to see you." The man said, looking straight ahead, eyes unfocused. It was one of the homeless men that they had rescued.

"Come to see us, Alexander." The man continued. His eyes were glowing. Xander watched as the homeless man shook his head and wandered off. Seemingly unaware of his previous words.

Xander knew what he had to do. He had to see the man.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter 14: Man on the Mountain**

Author's Note: Ghostrider: The Transuding Furies? Maybe. Though they really didn't do all that much except work a couple of spells, so unless Xander gets in a four-way... As for the "real" Furies, signs point to yes.  
As for angst, I'm trying to not make it too overbearing. It's there, but it won't consume him. I touch upon it a bit here, but it will be further developed on why it isn't so overwhelming despite doing what he does. Just not right now.

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"What was that?" Mary asked. They'd seen the odd man speak to Xander, but not the glowing eyes.

"Curtis, take him to Point Charlie. Prep him for interrogation. Get this stuff to the guys and have them start checking things out. Page 456 in the big book. That's what Vinge was trying to conjure. I need to get somewhere. I should meet you in less than two hours." Xander ignored the question and gave his orders. He handed over the things he had taken from Vinge's office to his second.

"Got it." Curtis replied. Whatever Xander needed to do, he could handle it by himself, thought the man. Otherwise, Xander would have asked for backup.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Eduard asked. They were here to observe and getting pushed aside was not acceptable. "I'm going with you."

"Alright. One of you can go with me." Xander decided. He had gotten rather used to working with his own team. It took some effort to remember that he had other people to work into his plans. He pulled a map out of the glove compartment of his car along with a red pen. "The rest head back with my team."

"I'm coming." The watcher decided. "Mary, Vi head back with the others. Don't let them do anything until we get back."

Jack snickered at that. Like the two slayers, or rather one, could possibly stop them from doing anything. "Yup. We'll be sure to play nice until the two of ye get back."

"Right. Jack. Watch yourself." Xander said. While the former terrorist could be a handful to keep in line, he still followed orders.

"You do what I say, Ed. And only what I say." Xander said to the watcher that now would tag along. He marked out his current place on the map. And then his destination. Xander then checked his watch and looked at the moon. He drew a convoluted path on the map connecting the two points. From above it took on the appearance of some arcane symbol. Which it was. "Let's go."

Xander watched for a second as the two cars drove away. He checked his map and led the way, Eduard following behind.

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"What's going on?" Eduard said, after about 15 minutes of running around. He was thoroughly lost. They'd crossed the last street three times and he was getting the feeling that Xander was purposefully doing it.

"Walking the path." Xander said, ambiguously. He was just glad it wasn't too far away. "It's the only way to the man."

"The man?" Eduard said.

"The man on the mountain. Lives on a high-rise a couple of blocks from here. This is the only way through."

"The what on the what? Why's this-"

"C'mon." Xander said. He was purposefully being cryptic. Partly out of necessity, partly because it was fun needling the watcher. It was like the old days with Giles, only he actually knew stuff this time. "No questions."

They reached the building that Xander was looking for. It was about three quarters of the way built, probably sometime in the last century. A twisted and rusted metal skeleton resting on a large dirt lot. Whatever it was supposed to be, it looked like someone just lost interest most of the way through.

Xander didn't stop when he reached it, or rather the fence surrounding it. He hopped the fence and jogged to the open lobby area. Eduard had no choice but to follow. He saw that Xander was waiting at the entrance to what would be the emergency stairwell. He reached it and looked inside. It was dark and cramped.

Amazingly, when Xander started walking up the stairs, a string of lights went on in the stairwell. A simple naked copper wire with bulbs strung every 10 feet or so cast the narrow stairs into shadow. It looked like the string went all the way up.

"We need to climb." Xander declared. He started walking up the stairs. He'd been there before. 81 stories on foot. But, it was necessary. It took them a good fifteen minutes at least to get up there. They were both panting by the time they got to the top.

It was the top floor. No walls, only steel girders and empty air. On a long wooden box in the center sat a decrepit man in rags. He was in a lotus position with small candles flanking him, the light playing off of his serene face.

"Don't say anything." Xander said, as they walked towards the man. "I mean it."

"I have come as requested, Voice." Xander asked, in a low voice. "What do you need of me?"

"What're you-" Eduard tried to get out.

"Shut up." Xander hissed. He watched as the seemingly homeless man opened his eyes. They glowed the same yellow as the messenger that had told him to come.

"We are not at rest." The man said. His words seemed to come from around the two hunters, yet the man's lips still moved. "There is distress in our bowels."

"What kind of problem?" Xander asked. As he always did, Xander tried to peg what accent the Voice had. It always shifted. Chinese, Irish, Mexican, Scottish, English, Afghani. The accents of the immigrants that had settled in the city. All flowed from the man.

"Dark shadows scampering through the tunnels. K Street and down. Taking what is not theirs to take. Life and blood spilt. The ever lasting night is coming." The Voice slowly turned his head, looking straight at Xander. Into him and through him. "You must stop this. The balance must be restored."

The Voice closed his eyes. All was in silence. A beat before the sounds of the city started to drift to their ears again. The two humans hadn't even noticed when they dropped out. It was kind of creepy.

"Let's go." Xander said after a moment. He started down the stairs. The way down was walked in silence. Even Eduard was reflecting on what had just occurred. When they had left the building, Xander quickly jogged towards the nearest subway station. They needed to get to Point Charlie.

"I know you're dying to ask." Xander said, as they were waiting for their train. "So what's your question?"

"Who was that? What was that?" Eduard asked. The questions had been driving him crazy. In all his experience he had never even heard of something like the man, or creature, he had seen.

"City come a-walkin.'" Xander said flippantly. The train had arrived and they both got on. There wasn't anyone there. Not all that suprising given the time. Or maybe the City was sending him a message. Couldn't really tell.

"Huh?"

Xander smirked. Eduard was a lot of things, but he didn't read much science fiction. "Never mind."

"Think of it this way." Xander continued. "You have something like eight, eight and a half million people in New York. Pretty tightly packed in four five hundred square miles. Their lives, their emotions. Life, love, hatred. Death. All mixing throughout time. You think all that energy just goes nowhere?"

"So what, that guy was the conglomeration of everybody's souls in the city? Their consciousness?"

"Not exactly. That was a meat puppet. Bodyjumped to provide a mouth. Like the guy that told me to come. This guy was black. The last time I spoke to the Voice he used a hispanic woman."

"So what is it then? And why didn't it just that first guy instead of making us run all over here?"

"We're talking the very basest parts of what makes people human. The essence of that congealed into one singular form. A groupmind. The man. The Voice of the City. It's tied into everything. The guy I killed tonight. The homeless that we rescued. The hookers and drug dealers. The mayor and the cops. Everyone. Even us, as long as we are in the city. That's how it knew where we were and what we were doing. Also, why it asked for help. And why it didn't use that first guy? I don't know for sure. I think the height gives it something though. More power or more sensitivity to what's going on."

"Why can't it do it itself? Instead of asking us." Eduard tried to wrap his head around what Xander was explaining. It was beyond anything he had ever imagined was possible.

"It exists, but it's not really here. It can bodyjump a guy, and it knows what's going on. It can even direct certain things to happen. Act as a catalyst. But, something like this, it can't do on its own. That's why it needs us. It also means it's pretty bad if the Voice needs to ask for help directly."

"Why?"

"This thing is made up of humanity, but it isn't human. It doesn't care about the guys we saved tonight. It doesn't care that we save people or kill them. All it cares about is maintaining its own existence. Which means that it needs people. More chaos, life and death, the more emotion and the more power it has to sustain itself."

"So this is in every city?" Eduard asked. This was big. The idea of some kind of group consciousness come alive would be major in the occult community. He wondered why Xander had never talked about it or reported its existence.

"The biggest and most dynamic cities have them. London. Beijing. LA. They're not all the same though."

"Why haven't you told-"

"Reveal its existence to the world? Or to you? Please. This thing exists in the cracks between people. If people found out it existed they'd likely want it out of their heads. The Cities wouldn't like that. So, you best not tell anyone what went down. Or you're going to be crossing the street sometime and a glitch in the traffic grid is going to land a taxi in your face."

Xander paused. The weight of all the secrets and lies were getting to him. He found out a few months ago that there was a hole in the world. Led all the way down. Heady stuff. Sometimes he wished he could have left it all behind. Just walked away clean. Go back to carpentry or construction. He was good at those. But, he couldn't. He wasn't Batman or the Punisher. Heck, he wasn't even Spider-man. No real traumatic event that forced him into the life. There was Jesse. But, in the long run, it hadn't amounted to much. He mourned, but ultimately he got over it. It was crass, but it was the truth. There was no all-consuming rage or need for vengeance. He had had no parents murdered in front of him. No familial collateral damage in a mob hit. No Uncle Ben. What there was, was loyalty. To his family. His girls. To the living. After the fall of Sunnydale he had had to make a choice. His half-assing of things would ultimately cost them all. So he went all in. The choice that wasn't one. To protect them, he had to give up a part of himself. His soul this time. Before it had been a broken arm. A concussion. Then his eye. He wasn't a sidekick. Or the comic relief. Not anymore.

"I put away childish things." Xander whispered to himself.

"What?" Eduard asked.

"Nothing. C'mon, we're here. We need to move fast. Still a lot to get done." Xander shook his head. Clearing his mind. He'd been up all day and it was catching up to him. And it wasn't over yet.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter 15: The Farthest Man from Home**

Raymond Vinge was bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Iron shackles, specially made and enchanted currently shackled him. The sedative that Curtis had administered was keeping him unconscious. He'd be out for another twenty minutes or so. Xander's team had prepared him well. They'd dealt with magic users before and knew what to expect. Couldn't be too careful though.

Xander and Eduard walked into Point Charlie looking at the prisoner. Like many of the other sites that Level 6 used, it was an abandoned warehouse. Eminent domain had all sorts of uses when it came to setting up work sites. Though that only came up when people complained. Usually, they were in and out with no one the wiser.

"What happened?" Cindy asked, as Xander came up to them. They didn't know much about the Voice of a City, but they did know that interacting with one was not something to be taken lightly. They had used the time to look through the information gathered from the club. That and getting worried.

"Another lead." Xander replied. "We'll chase it down when we can. I want to know what Vinge knows."

"I checked the book he had. He was trying to raise an oni. Which is kind of weird since most of the other stuff you got from him had European roots."

"Which one?"

"Valkaash'di is the original name. Not Japanese originally, but became pretty tied to Japanese occult history starting from the 15th century. Hasn't done all that much, but gained some notoriety letting loose some Rotherian kappa plaques in Kyoto and Edo."

"Frog demons? What is this, Hellboy?" Xander quipped. "Wait. Rotherian. From Arashmahaar Barrens?"

"Yeah, which means that if Vinge was trying to pull up this particular oni, then it was probably because it can open some pretty nasty portals. From the book's description, its abilities are greater than even than some of the Granoks'."

"Which means that Vinge wants to bring something big over. Something he couldn't do on his own. Anything else?"

"Yeah. I checked the barrier spell against the traces that we pulled from Rossetti's. Anderson's magic was all over the shop, and it matched what I found at the bar. Could be a coincidence. Anderson is for hire."

"In my experience, there are no coincidences. Looks like the lead's solid." Xander stated. "What about the laptop?"

"It's coded. I don't want to risk trying to crack it without help. It may be set to destroy the drive if it isn't done right. Nothing magical though."

"You scan him?"

"Yeah. He's clean."

Xander walked over to their abductee. He leaned down, checking the bound wizard's pupils. No reaction. He was still out. Xander pulled a capped syringe from a case in his shoulder bag. The drug would bring him around, but still keep him a bit loopy. Along with making him more cooperative, it would keep him out of focus and less likely to be able to do any strong magicks.

"You going to torture him too?" Mary asked, petulantly. She still hadn't gotten over what Xander had done to Max. Sure, he'd been a dirtbag, but he was still human.

Xander supposed it had something to do with the psychology of what slayers do. What he did do. Teenage girls forced to kill. Again and again. He knew. He'd done it himself. His first kill had been at 15. His best friend. It was an accident, but after all of the times he'd replayed it in his mind, he knew that at the end, he would have done it himself. It was a comfort to be able to separate the bodies from oneself. A disconnect. To be responsible for so many deaths at so young an age could mess a person up. Faith had fallen after the death of one human, though it was involuntary manslaughter. A human though, which made things different, at least to the slayer. Guilt ate at a person, Xander knew that well. So the bodies weren't seen as people. Vampires and demons were not human, so it was okay to kill them. To destroy them and dismiss them as only monsters meant that it wasn't really people they were killing. Just animals. Humans were to be protected. They were sacred. A mantra adopted to preserve their sanity. To take the life of one of those bordered on blasphemy for the slayers. Not to him though. Once he stopped lying to himself, he knew. All of the lives he had taken had been the same as Jesse. The same evil, stemming from very real people, even if they weren't human. He'd done it before. And he knew he would do it again.

"No." Xander said. "I don't think it'd work on this guy. Pain can be unpredictable with magic users. And torture is mostly unsuccessful. So, we're going to try something else. Decoy him into giving us something. Cindy, I need you here. Curtis, Jack, cover me from on high. The rest of you, wait by the cars."

"But," Eduard interjected.

"Don't make me say it again." Xander stated while he was cleaning up some of their equipment. He then took off the bindings from the still unconscious man and laid him on the floor. The rest started taking their positions. After, waiting until everyone was in place, he injected Vinge and put the spent syringe into his pocket, making sure to replace the plastic cap first. He stepped back as Vinge opened his eyes. A confused expression. Vinge wasn't scared, or at least, he wasn't showing it. He was just wondering what was going on.

"Who are you?" Raymond asked.

"Hawk. That's Dove." Xander said, nodding towards his own wizard. "You're lucky we were in the area. Those hunters hit you hard. Slayers I think. Took you out before you could call Valkaash'di. We hit them after they grabbed you."

"How did you know what I was doing?" Vinge asked. He was trying to get a handle on things. He didn't remember anything after having to direct his bouncers to take care of some brawl.

"Hey, we work for Anderson too." Xander said, putting up his hands. "Look, we got our thing for him. If you screwed up your part, then we need to go find him. Now."

"Right. Okay. Where are we supposed to meet him?"

"How would we know?" Cindy added. "We were told to go see you. You're the one that's supposed to know."

"That's right. Shaun-boy ain't too keen on letting us know too much about what he's doing. You'd think he didn't trust us." Xander smirked. The drug was working thankfully.

"Right, I was supposed to meet him in the sewers on 125th St. after I received the key. Which I don't. Have. This isn't good. He's going to be waiting."

"The Apollo?" Xander had walked around the wizard, pulling his sidearm out and hiding it against his leg. "Don't worry, I'm sure the info we have will make him very happy."

"The Apollo, that's right." Vinge said, a bit relieved.

"I think we should go then. We killed the hunters, but if they were working with others, they may be able to find us."

"Okay." Vinge got up from the chair. Xander was behind him and raised his gun. Two shots into the back of the head and the wizard fell forward. Dead.

"It's clear." Xander said aloud. His crew was to meet back inside; he had their next move.

"Alright. Here's the situation. Our target is supposed to be in the sewers under the Apollo. The Voice told me that something was going down on K Street in the Underland. Which is smack dab under the Apollo. It may just be a meet. But, the Voice said there were bodies piling up, so I'm thinking it's where he's holed up."

Xander looked at his team. "I want you guys ready in ten minutes. We won't have time to recon this, so pack heavy. Anderson gets wind we're coming and he could disappear. It's a maze down there. Let's get it done."

Mary and Eduard had pretty much stared at the cooling body of Raymond Vinge the whole time. Xander had done it again. They'd been monitoring the situation by a mic that had been set up for the two teams to keep tabs on Xander's progress when they couldn't be in the room. Eduard had only been half surprised when the shots had rang out. Vinge was a warlock. Deranged enough to sacrifice six men to a demon. Vinge deserved what he got, the watcher thought. Mary on the other hand…

"You just killed him!" Mary shouted. It was getting on Xander's nerves.

He didn't think that Mary was a bad slayer. Back in the old days, she'd probably train up to be pretty good. Wasn't the old days any longer. Saving the world wasn't so simple anymore. It wasn't just good and evil. Right and wrong. He hadn't planned on doing this now, but Xander guessed he didn't have a choice.

"Yeah. Yeah I did." Xander pulled out a plastic bag and a small pair of forceps. He dug around in Raymond's skull until he found the two bullets. Subsonic hollowpoints, he'd made sure that they wouldn't over penetrate the head. It would have been a bitch having to find the small metal slugs in the much larger warehouse. Xander deposited them in the bag along with the two spent casings. Luckily, they hadn't flown too far. He liked being thorough. But, the lack of quick access to a sweeper team was getting annoying.

"He was human."

"Yup." Xander thought the young and naïve slayer was beginning to sound like a broken record. She'd probably comment on the wizard having a soul if he let her get that far.

"Look, you think I like doing this?" Xander asked, exasperated. "This isn't some Saturday morning cartoon. You don't just let the bad guys get away to come up with some other dastardly plan to take over the world. Vinge was as monstrous as any vampire or demon that you killed."

"It's not the same." Mary said. Vinge was human, which meant that he could have redeemed himself. At least, that was the party line in the Council these days.

"Right. Cause Vinge is Caucasian-American and not Vampire-American." Xander scoffed.

"This is no time for jokes." Eduard snapped. Mary did have her points, but even the watcher knew that they couldn't have just left the wizard there. They didn't have many options, and sometimes they were forced to do some rather unsavory things. It wasn't supposed to be the standard operating procedure however. Nor taken so lightly.

"Yeah. Right. Look, I do this cause it's necessary. I don't enjoy it. But I damn well do it because it's the job I decided to take. That's not a problem. In fact, it's rather helpful. You fight the dark thinking that you'll be able to avoid getting it on you. Doesn't work like that."

"That doesn't give you the right to kill a human. Don't you have any morals?" Mary put in. Evidently they were being taught ethics in Slayer School. Xander didn't know exactly what was being said, but he had a pretty good idea which two slayers had set up the course.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were trying to stop the villain and save the world." Xander said, sarcastically. "We don't have the luxury of morals. There are no rules of engagement in this war. No Geneva Convention. You want in, then you go all the way. Or you're just putting everyone else in danger."

Xander rubbed his eyes. His head was beginning to hurt. "Look. What did you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Tie him up and leave him. Or something. You didn't have to kill him." Mary was grasping at straws at that point.

"Right. And when he had gotten loose, what then? He'd go to Anderson. Or go back to his old tricks. Why does his life matter more than those of his victims? Or what, I leave him for the police? Cause they're really going to believe the part where we tell him we stopped him from sacrificing people to the Devil? This is real life. You want to be a part of this fight, you are going to have to get your hands dirty."

"We can't just play judge on people. We aren't above other humans. We start killing humans and we won't stop. We start and we'll keep falling."

"You're kidding me, right? Who told you that poetic crap? Faith? I do what I do because it is my job. I chose this path. And human or demon, the evil that gets in my way will be stopped. Cause it's what I do. It's why I have this job. I haven't just kept on murdering people because I killed one human. It doesn't work like that. I do my job, and then I go home, take a shower, watch the game. Sometimes the job is saving lives, sometimes it's taking them. It eats at me. It hurts. It can hurt a lot. But, I know. I know that for every sacrifice I make of myself, there's one, two, a hundred, a thousand lives saved. I do it, because it is my choice."

Xander sighed. "And you get to decide too. The door is right there. You want to walk, you can go anytime. You stay, and you're in this all the way."

"What happened to you Xander?" Eduard quietly asked.

"I grew up." Xander replied. "It's something the slayers are going to have to do too. If you want them to survive."

Xander started to gather the rest of his equipment, prepping it. The time was spent in silence. The conversation was clearly over.

"C'mon, it's time to go."

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Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I won't have the upload a chapter after x reviews, but I'm hoping to improve as I go along, so the more reviews the better.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter 16: Path Through the Dark**

Xander marched the group through the sewers. They'd been at it for almost half an hour, starting from a hole in the basement of an abandoned building. How Xander had known it was there was anybody's guess. Eduard watched as the young hunter walked confidently through the tunnels. The heavy load on the man's back didn't seem to slow him down at all. Xander had obviously been there before, though he was still looking at markers that no one else could see. It meant that the Council member gone rogue may have been there before, but not enough to get totally familiar with the place. It was interesting. As was many of the things that the watcher was learning about his colleague.

The mixed group didn't go directly to the necromancer's hiding place under the Apollo Theater. Xander knew that that would be suicide. Tactical had some meaning now that he wasn't a kid anymore. That he wasn't in Sunnydale anymore. So, he marched them through the sewers. To an intersection, about 30 blocks away from their starting place. He knew pretty much where they were, though after a while, all the tunnels started to look the same. And smell the same. They had told him how to find his way, as convoluted as it had become. Hidden blazes left behind to guide those that were deemed friend.

They stood at the intersection between two tunnels, surprisingly wide. Dark and dank. It used to be used for workers to get around. Fix things that broke. Not anymore though. It was abandoned, like most of the pathways they had taken. It was empty. Though, Xander knew it wouldn't be for long.

"What are we waiting for?" Mary asked, coming up behind him. She hadn't enjoyed Xander's monologue. It hit a bit too close to home. She was itching to do something besides react to Xander.

"The mole people." Xander replied with a smirk. He missed being the comic relief sometimes. It was a lot easier than what he was now.

"Really? Mole-people." Mary was a bit incredulous. But, Xander had performed enough tricks in New York to convince her that he always had something strange up his sleeve.

"Something like that." Xander found himself liking that, for however much it was worth. Knowing more than the others did. Didn't really happen that much. He figured it was what Giles felt like back in high school.

He barely heard them come up on them. Didn't even see them until they got within a few feet. Must be some false walls in the tunnels, Xander thought.

Not unexpected, considering they were in Underland domain. Two men. Human, Xander guessed. A bit hard to tell with the hoodies they wore low over their heads. And another. An M'Fashnik. 6'7" with a look of attitude on his face. Not even trying to hide what he was. Whatever was going down, it had gotten heavy in the tunnels if the welcoming committee brought around a bodyguard.

"The invitation you have does not extend to others, Xander." The first man in the hood said. "Why have you come?"

"Word on the street is you guys are getting hit." Xander took a step forward. "I'm looking for the guy that's responsible. Maybe, you've heard something. Seen something?"

"That is not your concern." The second man in the hood said. "Our affairs are our own. You must leave."

"You haven't been handling it too well, the way I heard it." Xander said, flippantly. "In fact, the way I hear it, you're still losing guys, and it's starting to spill up top. You know my concerns."

Xander didn't like the attitude the underdwellers were exhibiting. But, he understood where the men from the sewers were coming from. It wasn't much, but it was theirs. And now they were getting invaded by something they couldn't stop. They were scared, and looking to lash out. Any outsiders would do. So he was a convenient target. It was understandable. But, it was also dumb as hell.

"We will handle this ourselves." The M'Fashnik growled. They were hard to tell part, but Xander knew this one. Not hard to forget the face of the demon that nearly broke him in two.

"Yeah, and while you're here yapping about it, more of yours are getting bled." Xander stated, coldly. "That what you're really after? Demon like you, you must be getting off on all this carnage. The women getting slaughtered. The kids. You loving this? Or you going stomach your ego and accept our help, Omic?"

"Little man-" Omic stepped forward, intent on finishing what he had started the last time the hunter had been there.

"Wait." The first man in the hood said. He pushed back the hood. A middle-aged white guy. Scraggly beard going grey. Xander knew him. Cowler. The man had good standing amongst those that found shelter in the Underland. And the older man didn't hate his guts.

"Xander speaks truth." Cowler continued. Smart man. Protected his own, and willing to make deals to do it. The way it worked underground. If one were honest about it. "We shall accept your help. Come with us."

Cowler and the other two sewer folk walked down the tunnel they had come from. Not looking to see if they would be followed. Xander and his people fell in behind. None of them bar Xander knew what was really going on, though it was only apparent on the people from the Council. The A-team hadn't been surprised by who or what Xander knew for a while now. They just accepted it.

Most of the time to the main Underland dwellings was spent in silence. Mary and Eduard tried to ask a few questions, but Xander always hushed them up. Wouldn't do for any of them to seem too green. The Underlanders wouldn't appreciate it if they found out half the fighters he brought were green. Might even turn them away if they learned it.

It was maybe thirty minutes before they reached it. Going through tunnels and waystations, doubling back and going forward. Xander didn't like having to wait or to be led around, but it was a political thing. It was a way to show him that however much hospitality he had been shown, he was till a guest. He couldn't just go in with demands. That had turned a couple of groups off the Council. Xander had learned from their mistakes. In Sunnydale and out of it. Finesse worked better. Especially on someone else's turf.

The group walked into an abandoned rail station that was connected to the sewers through a makeshift gate. Xander saw a large metal wall fitted on rails set above it. Obvious defensive measure. Wood, cardboard, and scrap metal made up a number of small rooms in the center, most of them on the raised platforms, some were starting to spill onto the tracks. They'd been growing of late. Someone had tapped an electrical line and small rows of bulbs lit the large space in a dull light. A few kids ran by and after them watching them with curiosity. Xander could see the eyes on them. From them and, others. Fear, anger, envy, regret. Mixed emotions pushed at them. He felt stifled.

Xander could feel the pathos. It wasn't the normal kind of melancholy that lay over the Underland. Being on the streets, or even below them, sucked. The assorted humans, demons, and other creatures there had formed a sort of community of convenience. A home. But, they didn't try to fool themselves into thinking it was better than what it was. It did bind them to each other though. And that made them strong.

Xander could see the suspicion. A lot more of them were openly carrying, something that was usually frowned upon in the City. He saw as a few women quickly gathered up their children and pushed them to their small, improvised huts. A few of them were carrying swords. He recognized the make, local blacksmith by the name of Jenkins. Good stuff. One even carried a bolt-action rifle. Guns were scarce down below, and precious. They were worried.

He would have liked to bring in more supplies than he had. Something more than just munitions. To do something to help, but he couldn't do it officially. The sewer folk wouldn't accept it. Their pride wouldn't let them. Pushing the issue would just lock him out completely, which would be a mistake. He managed to slip a bit of stuff in through some contacts he had in the underground; it made him a feel a little bit better. Some of the kids were pretty skinny.

"Where are we?" Linda gasped, taking in the site. "What is this place?"

"Nevewhere." Xander stated simply. He walked past her and stopped.

He looked behind him to the young witch. "Look it's complicated. And I'm really not supposed to explain. C'mon let's go."

Xander started walking again, making his way to the front of his group. As they made their way forward through the station, a trio of men brushed by, packing axes. One of them nearly shoved Mary to get by.

"Hey!" The slayer exclaimed. Turning after the extremely rude guy. The man turned back. Yellow eyes nearly glowing. He growled, showing his sharp teeth and fangs.

"Vampire!" Mary shouted as she pulled a stake. Xander quickly moved back, and pulled his sidearm. He reached them in an instant.

And kicked the slayer in the back of the knee, shoving her to the side when she went down. He batted the stake aside with his foot, fast in order to catch her off guard. Around them some of the underdwellers had gathered and pulled weapons. An attempt against the pack. Xander saw a crossbow, an old fire axe, and even a forty five. Things could get messy, Xander thought.

"Stay down." Xander said to the downed slayer. Mary had turned onto her back and was glaring at him with surprise, hurt, and anger. He raised his gun to the crowd. Alpha male posturing, but necessary. The crowd would take them all apart if they made a move on any in the City, but he had to establish that he wouldn't be a pushover.

"It's cool." Xander said to the crowd. "Everyone be cool. It was a misunderstanding. None of you have to die here."

Curtis, Paul, and Jack came up to him pulling their own weapons, ready to move on Xander's command. Abby kept the other team back, watching them and making sure they didn't do anything stupid.

Xander reached down with his left hand, pulling Mary up. He kept his eye on the crowd. He recognized the fear in their eyes. As close as he may have been to some in the community, he was still an outsider. He had things. While they didn't. It made him different. Apart.

"Enough!" Cowler said loudly. He had watched the altercation. The outcome pleased him. Xander knew the way of things in this place. And prevented anybody from getting hurt.

"Mac." Xander stated, looking at the vampire that had growled. The other two, now in game face, were beside him. Xander saw as two others were in the crowd, making their way slowly forward. They made up a fair contingent down in the tunnels. And they protected their own. "That's enough."

Mac, sniffed loudly. Clearly unimpressed. He stood his ground, but making sure the other two with him didn't make a move. The other vampires were watching, but they stopped as well, ready to attack if needed. He knew the way of things down below as well. And it would do no good to cause unnecessary conflict. He saw how things were going down, and they did need all the help they could get.

"Keep your slayers away from mine." Mac stated.

"Fair enough." Xander replied. "Keep your fangs clean."

Xander watched as Mac turned and walked away, the other vampires following. The unspoken, but clear, threat wasn't necessary, but he wanted to let the vampire know that he wouldn't be allowed to slip even once. The crowd dispersed, the recent standoff forgotten for the moment.

Xander moved his people forward, following Cowler's lead once again.

"Xander." Mary hissed, as she came up beside Xander. "That was a vampire. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that you need to grow a brain." Xander whispered harshly, not even looking at the slayer by his side. It could have gone very, very badly if Mary had moved a little faster or he had moved a little slower. "Mac's security. He keeps his own on the straight and narrow down here and he protects the rest. He's no saint, but he isn't out draining humans either. The rest wouldn't stand for it."

"He's a vampire." Mary grumbled.

"So?" Xander said. "That isn't unknown in the Council. So lay off it."

It wasn't the same thing, but Xander didn't want to get too into it. The Hidden was too complicated to explain there, and he really didn't feel like doing it to the inexperienced slayer. This must be how Giles really felt like back in Sunnydale, Xander thought.

"What? They have souls?" Mary questioned. Pretty clear who had turned her onto that line of thinking.

Xander rolled his eye. "No, they don't have souls. They don't have chips. They don't have collars and leashes for good little slayers to tug on. And I highly doubt that they've changed because of the love of a good woman either."

"Then what the hell are they doing here?"

"Surviving. Un-living and letting live." Xander replied. "It's what we're going to do as well. They don't kill, and nobody kills them. That's the way it goes."

"But. Why?" Mary asked the obvious question.

"Because they chose not to. Somewhere along the line they found a better way. They changed. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Like Spike?" Mary said innocently.

"No." It was a sore spot for Xander. Angel and Spike. Vampires with souls. Angel at least had become something of a decent person. Spike, Spike just stayed an asshole. And one good deed hardly made up for a lifetime of being an asshole.

"Just let it go. And I wouldn't suggest you let this get around. Tell Eduard that. You try opening this can of worms and you won't like what comes out. There are a lot of demons out there that are willing to live in peace, but you start in with some pro-Human anti-demon Crusade, and you're going to see a fight. One you aren't prepared for. Germany was kept quiet. You talk about everything you've seen here, and this won't be."

Xander walked forward faster, leaving Mary behind. He could tell that she fell behind to discuss things with her watcher. Hopefully, they'd learn something about secrets and would be able to keep this one too. He'd hate to see them die.

They finally reached a slightly better made two room hut on an elevated portion of the station. The Leader's domain. The shabby curtain that made up the sole door was currently closed. Cowler went in, while Omic and the other stood guard. Xander waited. It was ceremony. Designed to show the uplanders who was in control. Xander didn't begrudge them that, but it did get annoying. He idly wondered if it was karmic justice for how annoying he had been, and could be.

It was only a minute before Cowler came back out. "Jurgen will see you now. You can bring one other if you wish."

"Okay." Xander said. He turned to his own people, passing his bag to his second in command. "Curtis, circulate around. See if you can dig anything up. Have Jack start seeing about some defenses. They have some stuff set up, see if he can help shore it up. Get the others into it too. Ed, let's go."

Xander and Eduard walked into the hut. It wasn't bad inside. Jurgen kept it clean. Spartanly furnished as well. An old mat for a bed, and an upturned cable spool for a table. A string of lights were set in the ceiling as well. It was set up near some steam pipes, so it was warm. A bit damp though.

Jurgen was the leader of the City. The place that the disenfranchised, exiled, and unwanted went to. Some of them anyway. The lucky ones. He wasn't an old man. Maybe 55. But, he'd been through a lot. Seen wars, seen death. And life. He had the respect of the few upworlders that knew of their existence. And the respect of those that made their life down below. More importantly, he had the fear of those that might seek to do them harm.

"One-eyed Jack. It's been a while." Jurgen whispered. He had a scar under his throat. Received it teaching a vampire that his own weren't to be messed with. Damaged his vocal cords. Didn't bring him down though. Just made him that much scarier.

"It's Xander now." The Level 6 operative glowered at the man seated at the "table." He'd tried leaving that name in the past. Buried. But, things like that had a way of creeping up when one least expected it. Or wanted it. "I don't need the headache."

"Yes, well, you are what you are. Whatever you think that is." Jurgen had seen the One-eyed Jack, Xander, in action. It hadn't been pretty. "The Voice has contacted me as well. He has given me some hints on what is here. Despite, what Cowler and Donnelly, may have said, I do need your help. The one you seek is here. In my world. And I cannot tolerate that."

Eduard was listening quietly from the corner. One-Eyed Jack? He had heard references to a hunter using the moniker. Sprang up sometime last year. But, that it was Xander seemed impossible. There had to be more to it. It wouldn't have been the first time a pretender had usurped a name.

"Yeah. I'm planning on taking him out. You have anything for me?" Xander asked as he sat down. He saw the look on Eduard's face as the watcher took a seat beside him. The dropping of names wouldn't go over so well if the watcher dug too deeply. He hadn't been all that careful when he picked up that particular moniker. But, he couldn't worry about that right now.

"Some of mine have been snatched in the tunnels. Near K Street mostly. There was one survivor. Didn't last for long. But, he did tell us that zombies were doing the attacking. Though they apparently weren't normal zombies. They were faster, and some had parts that didn't match."

"Some kind of clockwork zombie maybe. There are a couple of spells that might also achieve something like that." Xander thought aloud. "You recover any bodies?"

"No."

Xander didn't like what he was hearing. It meant that Anderson was likely building an army. Adam had done something similar. It was a smart play. The necromancer probably figured no one would care about the missing until it was too late.

"Right. I'm going to need someone to take me there. Someone experienced. I haven't been in that sector much."

Jurgen grinned. Not a friendly one though.

"Right. Omic then." Xander wasn't too happy about the situation. Though it meant some additional backup. Major league backup. And that was always welcome. Well, mostly.

"Get your people together. No one goes out. If this thing goes down bad, I don't want your people in the crossfire." He continued. Thinking things through. Planning on the best course of action. That was his job now.

"And, if it goes bad, you're going to want somewhere to fall back to. I'll get my people ready." Jurgen wasn't a stupid man. He hadn't become Leader of the community through sheer force. He could make the best out of what he had. It was necessity, something that they'd all learned well.

"I'll be leaving some people here to coordinate and some supplies. Too many people in the tunnels will get unwieldy. Do you have enough weapons?"

"There's never enough. But, there are barricades and we do have some stores. We built the City to last."

"Good. Just be ready."

Xander rose and walked towards the exit. Eduard scrambled after him, thoughts swirling.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter 17: When Doves Cry**

The trip to K Street wasn't pleasant. The smell down there only got worse. The usual sewage odor mixed with the smell of decaying flesh. Wherever they were headed, the hunters were getting close.

Xander had left Paul, Jack, and Curtis back at the City to prepare defenses. Their more mundane type of backup wouldn't be much help in the tunnels if the bad guys got in too close. Not if they were dealing with a wizard packing some serious mojo. Without the chaos of a mass defense from a fixed position, they would run the risk of getting their ammo cooked off by the necromancer. At least, that's what Xander would have done if he had any magical powers. He only hoped that their smaller team would be able to be distracting enough as to make the risk of that happening to their smaller group negligible. The two witches, slayers, and the watcher were with him now. With Omic leading. The demon was carrying a Thompson submachine gun. With a drum mag. How the demon had gotten that, Xander had no idea. He was an artist with it though. And the extra ammo would go a ways towards making up their firepower deficit.

Xander cradled the G36 in his hands, making sure it didn't bang into anything and give them away. He had given one of the MP5's from his pack to Eduard, which certainly surprised Mary. Especially in the practiced way in which her watcher had checked it. Nobody in the Council used guns. At least nobody did it as blatantly as Eduard was doing now. Xander looked over to the slayers. Mary was carrying a sword, as was Abigail. They still had them sheathed and were careful not to let them swing too loosely. He noticed that, unlike the Council Slayer, the daughter of a marine was also carrying an M4. Vi was carrying Xander's old axe. Along with her more subtle of firearms. He knew that she wouldn't be able to carry her favored weapons, given the presence of the Council, so he wanted to make sure that what she could carry was the best. The two witches, proving the RPG cliché, were lightly armed. Cindy was carrying only her sidearm, while Linda wasn't packing at all. Not even a blade. Xander wasn't exactly happy with the loadout, but it was better than what the Council would have sent in. And he wasn't exactly planning on all out fight. Even he wasn't that stupid.

He'd taken the Council team aside during their prep. Explained things a bit better than he had before. He'd screwed up beforehand by not being explicit in his instructions. The bond he had with his own people meant that he didn't have have to always state things. They knew what he would do, and they would be able to roll with his improvisations. Ed and the others would do the job well enough now. He hoped at least. In a firefight, even people with some experience could find a way to forget their orders.

"Over here." Omic said quietly. He knelt down, ducking through a small hole in the wall. They were under the Apollo now. The smell was strongest here. And there were no rats. Not sewer tunnels though, Xander noticed. Something older.

Xander took the front and put on his night vision goggles. The dim light strewn about in the tunnels looked a lot better now. He could see that the paths they were now taking had been well traveled. It led an easy path to their origin. Maybe a bit too easy.

They followed the trail to the entrance of a large room maybe twenty blocks from K Street. Omic was getting increasingly antsy, something that was making Xander even more wary. The room was lit by strung halogen bulbs. It was bright. Xander took off his goggles before he was blinded and carefully crawled forward. The tunnel they were inching out off was set a few dozen feet above the ground below. A small ledge was at the end they were closing on, with a ramp leading down. Makeshift. It'd obviously been placed here for a reason. The rest of the group followed quietly. No puns or quips. Smart. Xander looked. And saw.

There were maybe a hundred bodies. They were in varying states of decay and seemed to be mixed up. He recognized Polgara and Fyarl limbs, as well as other less readily identifiable parts. They were sewn in different ways to the bodies of humans. Not all in the right places. Some now had four arms. One had the horns of a Fyarl mounted on his chest. Another had a Skilosh eye implanted in the back of her head. They couldn't have been pleasant to install. That kind of fleshbending never was. They were milling around the room. Aimless as most zombies, but more fluidly than one usually expects. Xander recognized the one live man in the center. Shaun Anderson. He was kneeing in a magic circle, in supplication. A small girl was in front of him. She was naked, lain open. Her entrails set upon a small altar, still attached to her. The chalk inscribed runes that made up the circle glowed a mellow blue. Still, it seemed rather malevolent to Xander. He got down on his belly, inching as close as he dared.

Mary knelt closer to him. She had seen the child, and was near tears. "Can't you shoot him or something?"

Xander was about to say something sarcastic and inappropriate when he saw the look on her face. "Can't. I do that now and whatever he's whipping up could blow. Don't worry, he'll get his."

"Good." Mary said. Cold and hard. A far cry from the emotions that she had displayed earlier in the night.

It was vengeance. Against a human. Mary may be young, and didn't know much, not as much as she thought anyway. But, what she saw, she knew. She knew it was wrong. And she knew that it had to be stopped. Human or not.

Xander pulled a grenade from his bag. It was only a flash-bang, anything more powerful could destabilize the area and send it crashing down. At least, he thought it could. He wasn't a structural engineer, but he knew grenades. He looked to the groups he was now leading. Eduard had seen the situation and had stepped aside; conflict of leadership would have been disastrous. It was one team now.

"We can't go in. Too many zombies to take out. And there's the Darth Vader wannabe. I'm going to toss this in, so close your eyes and cover your ears. Linda, what do you have in the way of offensive spells?"

"Uh, nothing really. I can do some telekinetic pushes. I can make some barriers too, but that's not really offensive." Linda somewhat stammered out. She'd only been sent because she was the most junior witch available in Cleveland at the time.

"Right, Force Pushes. No Force Lightening I guess." Xander quipped quietly. "How about Force Choke?"

"What?" Linda looked bewildered. The surrealism of the situation adding to her fear.

"Never mind. You'll be covering us. You see anything coming in close, and I want you to push it off of us. Also, set up a barrier around that room. Make sure it's only in one-direction. We don't want our stuff bouncing off. Cindy, fortify her spell. I also want you to set up a fire wall around the room. Just inside the barrier. Those zombies don't look too bright, the flashbang will make them run into it. Keep it from getting near Anderson's circle though. And I'm going to need a containment spell around the circle." Xander looked at his main witch. "Mixing would be bad I reckon. So make sure it's completely closed off."

He wasn't completely sure about integrating the Council Wiccan into the plan, but with the delicacy of the multiple spells he needed from his own witch, he had to make due with what he had.

Xander looked at the area before him. Then back to the witches. "There's cover at that ledge in the middle, keep close to that and keep your heads down. Don't bring those spells down until I say so."

He looked at his witch, remembering past missions. "Cindy, nothing unnecessary."

The slightly older witch only smiled at him, a twinkle in her eyes.

He turned back to the others. "Ed, ladies, back me up. I don't want you going hand to hand unless it's absolutely necessary. So you're just going to be staying here for now. Ed, left side of the ledge. Mary, Vi keep to the rear. Be ready though. Abby, get to the right and be ready to take a shot at Anderson if you get one. Make sure he's clear of the circle first. I'll be drawing him out. Omic, I…"

Xander looked around. The demon was nowhere to be found. Bad time to be playing games. He hoped it didn't mean that they were walking into a trap. Omic wouldn't have betrayed them to the necromancer, but he might have been taken out quietly without them noticing. Improbable, but just enough there to cause him to get a bit paranoid.

"Damn it. Never mind. I'll draw him out." Xander continued. He just hoped that the unforeseen circumstance didn't end up getting them all killed.

"How're you going to do that?" Eduard asked. He was getting less amazed by the quick planning and frankly, competence, that Xander was consistently demonstrating.

Xander smirked. "Be my usual annoying self."

Xander readied himself and made his way down the ramp. There wasn't much cover so he had to move slowly. The halogens weren't making it any better. Xander stopped about halfway down. High enough to be over the wall of flames that Cindy would create after he placed his explosive. He pulled the pin on the flashbang and tossed it. He closed his eyes, and waited for the explosion. One, two, three. He had cut the fuse himself. Xander knew exactly when it would go off. By the second second he had already readied his rifle. By the third, ready to pull the trigger. He just needed a target.

Flash. Bang. Xander opened his eyes and acquired targets. He placed his shots on the zombies closest to the somewhat stunned necromancer. Shots to the head and the upper torso, the hollowpoints nearly blowing them apart. Death had made the bodies weak.

Shaun Anderson rose. The totality of his sacrifice to his goddess had been interrupted and he was annoyed. He saw a wall of fire rise around him as he felt the barrier spell go down, sealing his children in. An attack. An affront to the one he served. It could not stand.

He watched as two guns started to destroy his creations. He watched as some of the them stupidly stumbled towards the fire, trying to get away from the bullets. He grew angrier and angrier as his head paradoxically cleared. He heard a voice.

"Come out and play-ay-ay."

Xander was taunting now, his head disconnected with his body which was still firing shots and reloading. "Let's say we stop this and we go to a bar. If you're this desperate, I'm sure I can hire someone for you. It's not like you're completely ugly."

Anderson looked for the source of the annoyance. He saw it. A man in black wielding a large rifle. He narrowed his eyes. And blurred.

Xander saw the necromancer nearly disappear as he "ran" towards him. Clearly, he had gotten their target's attention. He tried to move back, but wasn't quick enough. The thrown fist glanced off his chest and sent him rolling back, dropping the rifle in the process. If he had got it full on it would have sent a hole through Xander's chest. Clearly, Shaun had picked up some new powers along the way.

Abigail had tried to get a shot, but even her slayer senses couldn't follow the speedy wizard once he had left the circle. She tried to move to reacquire the shot, but could only see Xander fly back. She moved closer to try to get a better line of sight, but was thrown back herself by the speeding Anderson.

Even Eduard, who was also trying for the wizard couldn't find him. He saw as the other two guns were sent flying. This wasn't good.

Xander saw as Mary and Vi jumped over the ledge. Vi almost hit with her axe. And Xander saw as Mary cut a strip of cloth off of his robes. She got close. That was certainly something. They tried to put up a fight, but were quickly hit down.

"Get down." Xander shouted. He pulled another flashbang out, primed it, and tossed it a few feet away from him, towards where he thought the necromancer would be. Xander covered his head as he pulled out his five-seven.

The resultant explosion stunned the wizard enough to slow him down sufficiently for Xander to get a shot in. He took it.

Three rounds into the chest, no fancy shooting here. He heard Abigail follow up with a two round burst into Anderson's head. Xander saw red mist spray up from what was left of the mage's head. Xander closed in, just to be sure. He saw the corpse twitch twice. It was over. All that was left was cleanup.

"Where the hell where you?" Xander shouted as he saw Omic walk up. He picked himself up.

"I thought you were the big man." The demon stated, ignoring the hostile tone. "Why bother risking myself when One-Eyed Jack would take care of things? So, I covered the rear. You know, just in case."

In truth, the demon was pretty sure that Xander was up to the task. But, he hadn't wanted to mix up the team dynamic. So he stayed behind. To act as rear guard. Also, in case the humans got massacred, he'd have been in a better position to fall back to the City and prepare for the resultant assault.

"Screw you. And stop calling me that." Xander glowered. Omic wasn't a coward. But, he didn't share the same priorities as the hunter from up top did. And stepping out meant crossing a line.

"What, I thought you were the man from upside. I thought you could handle things." Omic shrugged his broad shoulders.

"Yeah, and apparently what they say about the M'Fashniks doesn't hold true for the pansies on the underside. What would Jurgen say if he knew that you were risking the City due to your vendetta against me." Xander snapped back.

Omic took a step forward, growling.

Abigail stepped in front of them, pushing them both back. Hard. "Cool it. Both of you. I don't need the alpha male posturing. We have a job to do."

"Right." Xander shot a crooked smile at the slayer in front of him. Omic just growled again.

"Let's go. Linda, keep that barrier spell up until I tell you. Cindy, get set to bring the fire down." Xander ordered, loudly. It was mostly unneccessary given his com link to his team, but Linda didn't have one.

He closed in on the barrier, keeping away from the fire. Eduard and the three slayers were behind him.

"Okay. Bring it down." Xander yelled back to his witches. He watched as the fire died and the small glow of the barrier spell faded from sight. The zombies had all fallen when Anderson had been killed. Clearly there was some psychic link that made them move better than normal zombies. It was a benefit to them now.

Xander and company made their way forward carefully. It didn't hurt to be cautious. They closed in on the now broken magic circle. With the necromancer dead, the circle was useless. Xander carefully crossed it, making sure to smudge the chalk line ringed with magical symbols first. He stared at the small corpse in front of him. The ten year old girl had a look of terror frozen on her face. She had been alive when it happened.

"Damn it." Mary swore. She hugged herself. She had grown used to being a slayer. A hero. Saving the day and the would-be victims. Killing the monsters that sought to do harm.

"You can't save everyone." Xander came up beside her, laying a hand on her shoulder. They just looked at the small body for a while. He was surprised when she whirled and hugged him, face buried in his chest. He froze a moment, and then put his left arm around her, the right still holding his rifle.

In truth, what surprised him most wasn't Mary's reaction. It was his own. The lack thereof. He'd seen too much to be affected by it. He wasn't sure if he liked that. He knew what he used as a shield. Humor. Sarcasm. It was getting darker though. Out of hand. He also knew how it was starting to turn people off of him. Dr. Farmiga had used words with more syllables to describe it, but it amounted to the same thing. Maybe, it was time to change that.

A beat.

"You okay?"

Mary shook her head into his chest. Sometimes even he forgot that slayers were, most of the time, just young girls, thrown into a world that they weren't meant to be a part of. Buffy. Faith. Vi. Kennedy. Chao-Ahn. Some had adapted and thrived. Some had made it to a point, but cracked under the pressure. And some, like Chloe and Dana, should never have been called. That he had been a part of that, despite his misgivings, ate at him. He knew he should have tried harder to fight against it, but he didn't. And that was his cross to bear.

"Yeah. I know." Xander whispered, holding her. "We have work to do."

Mary took a step back. She straightened up. She drew strength from the pain. Xander could see that. She'd be alright.

"Xander. Look at this." Cindy called to him, from her place in front of a table set a ways away from the altar. It had a number of objects, most of them looking like junk. The witch was holding up a small leatherbound book.

"The First Book of Kulich." Xander walked close, reading off of the cover.

"Yeah. There are pages ripped out though. I couldn't find them. Apparently he was doing some type of binding spell though. That was what the book was open to. The sacrifice would bind a spirit to an object. Powerful magic. It would pull an avatar from the aether and into this reality."

"To pave a way for a greater being." Eduard said, coming up to them. He had heard of such things. But, such magics were thought long since lost.

"Yeah. So what are we talking about? A god?" Xander asked.

"It could be. There's not enough here to come up with what. And I don't even know if we stopped it in time. The, sacrifice, was made. But, depending on his power, it could mean the end or the beginning of the ritual. Something could have gotten through. There's no way to track it with him dead and the circle used up. Nothing here has much to do with whatever Anderson was planning. It's mostly your average dark wizard reading list. Heck, I have most of these myself."

"So nothing useful?" Xander asked. It was a lot of death just to hit a dead end.

"Maybe not. I found this." Cindy held aloft a cogwheel that had previously sat upon the table. It was about 12 inches in diameter and made of what looked to be pure platinum. Xander could see faint writing etched onto its surface.

"What's that say?" Xander asked, leaning in for a closer look.

"Don't know. I don't recognize the language either. It looks to be more than just runes or sigils in any case."

"Anything else?" Xander looked around. There wasn't much there that could house anything of importance.

"Anderson didn't leave any other papers or artifacts behind. Or any hint on whatever that other book from Rosseti's might be. Or what the key was that Vinge was supposed to get." Cindy shook her head. "There's no indication that he had any other place either. This was it."

"Maybe. Put the word out. If he did leave anything else behind, chances are it'll make its way to the street sooner or later. It'll be good to get our hands on it."

"Got it. That's it then." Cindy frowned. It was pretty unfulfilling.

"THIS IS NOT THE END!" The body of Shaun Anderson floated into the air. All of the hunters turned at that, raising their weapons.

The loss of half his head apparently did not prevent the late Mr. Anderson from speaking. He turned to stare at Xander. Or he would have stared if he still had eyes.

"She will devour you all." The body shook, a slender, purple scaled tentacle burst from its chest. It sent a crack of green lightening from its tip at Xander. The Level 6 operative quickly dove to the side, narrowly avoiding being electrocuted. The body fell to the ground, lifeless. Tentacle lying limp upon it.

"So, that's it?" Mary asked, getting over her shock. "We're done?"

Xander supposed it felt somewhat anticlimactic. A somewhat large battle, though the slayers hadn't really gotten into it aside from getting pounded a bit, and the bad guy vanquished. All to learn that there was something worse coming. Man, Xander thought. It was like something out of some hack syndicated TV show.

"It's never the end." Xander replied, a bit shaken. "We bury our dead, and we go home. Fight another day."

He turned to the maturing slayer, laying a hand on her shoulder. "This'll stay with you for a while. As it should. But, don't let it defeat you."

He smiled at her. They might not have had the best start, but the young slayer wasn't doing too badly all things considered. Mary returned the smile.

Xander watched the group move bodies in silence. He was going through the few objects that Anderson had left. There was nothing else of any value.

"We will bury the dead." Omic said quietly, coming up beside the one-eyed hunter. Even he had been affected by the carnage. "A number of these were my people. The rest have nobody else. It is the right thing."

Xander said nothing.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter 18: Pass/Fail**

"I suppose this wasn't the best demonstration." Xander said. They were back at the apartment now. Debrief and decompression. It was a couple of hours after they had reached the surface. Much of the trip back up top was made without speaking. Reflecting on the events of the night. Xander had led them to a Korean place that was open late. Food helped. Many wouldn't think so, but then again, comfort food existed for a reason.

"Things didn't go as we wanted. We lost a hell of a lot of people. Innocent people. Then again, things will never go exactly as you want. You will not save everyone. And you will not accept that." Xander looked at the group from the Council. He shrugged. "You shouldn't."

His own people had learned this lesson already. All too well.

"But, it can turn inward. And that will destroy you." Xander continued, clichéd stuff to be sure. But, they needed to hear it. "It will eat you up until all that is left is hate and pain. It's not about that. And it's not about making the world the way you want it. It's about getting the job done. So I ask. If you had been here alone. What would you have done? How far would you have gotten? Who would you have saved? And who would you have failed?"

"Xander's right." Eduard said from his place at the table. "Without the contacts and resources Xander had, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere with this. Who knows what Anderson would have done if we hadn't gotten to him when we had. And, I don't think we could have stopped him if Xander hadn't been here. Not to mention what our fight with the zombies would have been like."

"So what happens now?" Linda asked, a bit of hope in the tone of her voice. She hadn't had a large role in what had happened on their observation mission, but she was still a part of it. And she liked Cindy. She would like to talk with the more experienced witch again.

"That's up to you." Xander replied. "This was a test run. My guy will be there whenever the Council decides to go all in. But, that's your choice."

"Alright. What else do you have?" Eduard stated. He didn't think that Xander had come back and dropped the bombshell on them solely because of what happened in Germany. There had to be something more.

"There's something big coming. The Sisters in Tierra Del Fuego have felt it. Things are coming to a head. How much do you know about what happened in Sunnydale and LA?"

"We were briefed. The Master. The Mayor. Glory. The First. The demon attack in LA." Eduard was suitably impressed with all of the work the "Scooby Gang" had done in Sunnydale. Most watchers and slayers never faced such threats, let alone survived, to face and defeat many more.

"The Master was small change. A low level vampire with a few minions with delusions of greatness. He had age which gave him some power. And, The Master had _some_ power backing him. Wolfram and Hart connections from the old days. But, he was mostly independent. Wilkins. People don't ascend without the Powers that Be Evil worrying about the status quo. But, all in all, even one pure demon ain't all that much in the grand scheme of things. Especially given today's weaponry. Glory though. That was a whole nother matter. A goddess. She may have been exiled, but that didn't mean she didn't have influence. And a bunch of humans stopped her. The First was defeated. Much of its army destroyed. It's licking its wounds, but that creates a power vacuum for the time being. And a start to the wondering of just how good humans have gotten at killing."

"Wait. I thought Buffy and Spike destroyed the First." Mary interjected. She had received her own histories on the past fight and the senior slayers. But, history had a way of getting distorted by those that told it.

Xander frowned at that. He wasn't sure what stories Buffy had been spreading about herself and her sometime lover, but she sure wasn't helping matters when it came time to take stock of their enemies.

"No. It's stopped for now. But, there are others waiting for a shot at the place it held. Especially now that Wolfram and Hart took a fairly significant blow to the family jewels." Xander smiled. Demon politics. Fun stuff.

"Wait. That was you?" Vi asked. She hadn't heard about that from Xander. The Council had been unwilling to help Angel in his struggle in LA. Willow had been absent with more "important" things, and Giles had not cared. Buffy was in Rome and Xander in Africa. They had heard what happened in LA though. It was secondhand so how much was fact and how much was fiction remained to be seen.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Xander replied, with a straight face. Vi saw through it though. "We aren't the only ones out there. And, there are those with good enough backing to risk a chance to take the fight to Wolfram and Hart."

"Do you know what happened?" Eduard asked. He had heard some things. Some leading group in Wolfram and Hart had been assassinated. Angel had supposedly been responsible. Some said because he was a hero. Others believed it was because he wanted the power for himself. In retaliation, an army had been sent to destroy Angel and his group. But, it hadn't worked. Something stopped the attack. And Angel and his band had disappeared. Maybe dead. Or they went underground.

"I picked up a few clues. Some higher placed authorities saw the destruction of the Council as an opportunity to operate in a more visible fashion. They surely did ruffle feathers in their time. Wolfram and Hart pushed too hard and some teams were sent in to stop it. I heard that Japan and Israel were in on it. China too, but that's a rumor. We weren't involved yet."

"And Angel and the others?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Wolfram and Hart have had what passes for their hearts set on Earth for a while now. They staked their claim and they had the muscle to back it up. Which is why we got the amulet in Sunnydale. None of these guys play well with others. With much of Hart power gone, there are things out there that are going to be taking their shot. With nothing to keep them in line on their end. And playing the hero is going to be a lot more dangerous."

"So what, it would have been better if Wolfram and Hart was still in power?" Mary asked.

"Depends." He said simply. It was a valid question. It was certainly a hard thing to allow evil to exist. Xander knew that from experience.

"On what?" Linda asked. She was intrigued by the situation. The battle between good and evil was much less simple than she had previously believed. And her personal belief system didn't take the complexities of it into consideration.

"Depends on whether you think you could have stopped their plans to destroy the world." Curtis stated. Being swamped with cases in the past had given the former FBI agent a unique perspective on evil. It was always there and sometimes it was all one could do to keep from being dragged down into it. More allies, and laxer restrictions was something that all of his previous co-workers would have agreed with him on. It felt good to finally be able to take on some of the evils that used the trappings of the law to hide behind. He had qualms about breaking the oath he had made when he became an FBI agent, but at the end of the day, they made a difference. And that was enough.

"Better the devil you know then?" Mary asked.

"No. But, you have to understand, as bad as Wolfram and Hart was, it was one group. One of the most powerful, but not the only one out there." Xander said. "Which is why we need the whole Marvel Team-up thing. There's way too much that's going to be coming for all of us to try to take it on by ourselves."

"What, you don't think the Council could handle it?" Mary may be learning, but she still had tremendous respect for the Watchers' Council. A blind sort of faith.

The A-Team snorted at that. Part was bravado, but the other part was earned. They'd been through the fire together and knew just how good, and vulnerable they were. And they'd read the reports on the Council. As good as some of their individual fighters may be, the Council was weak. And arrogant. A holdover from the old version. There was no way the Council could hold off the night. Not by itself anyway.

"No." Xander looked at her. "You really want to do this on your own? You couldn't have even handled New York on your own. And that was ultimately just one guy with a bit of magic."

"So why not do it by yourselves then?" Mary was lashing out. Her reaction in the tunnels hadn't shown her at her best. She wanted to reclaim some of that. Xander understood it. It didn't help things, but he understood it.

"Please. I take all the help I can get. It's why I'm still alive and not every slayer in Sunnydale made it out. You try it on your own, and all you get is dead."

Xander sighed. "Look. If you face this on your own, and you lose? That's it. Everything just ends. There are no second chances. No restarts. It's Battlestar Galactica without the battlestar. Titan A.E. without the Titan. Independence Day without Will Smith. What's it going to be?"

"I don't think we really have a choice." Eduard said. He felt a bit dejected. While he did value what Xander could bring, he also didn't like the changes it would mean for the Council. He was a company man in his own way, despite the loyalty he felt towards the man that had led them into battle.

"Buck up. Sometimes, we're all choiceless." Jack said with a grin. He was enjoying himself for the most part. He hadn't been part of the final raid, which he felt a bit down about, but the future proved to be one hell of a fight. An environment he thrived in.

"The Church stands with Xander. Unofficially, of course." Paul stated, the weight it meant would certainly help. He had heard some of what had happened in Xander's quest for the necromancer, and the ease with which his leader dispatched his victims without remorse, disturbed the Knight. In the fight, he worked by the old principle of "eye for an eye." In many ways it was the only law that the darkness respected. But, it was never supposed to be easy. He only hoped that he wouldn't one day have to stand against his friend and commander. Until then though, his side was clear.

"I'm a slayer. And I stand with Xander. He offered me a choice when he found me. The Council. Or him. I chose to stay with him, because he's the best chance that any of us have of surviving this thing." Abigail said her piece. A slayer's perspective. It'd probably resonant a bit better with Mary, and by extension the other slayers in the Council.

"Once upon a time, the Council controlled the slayers because they wanted to keep their bit of power." Xander's slayer continued. "That day has passed, but the slayers aren't ready to be on their own. Even with the watchers involved, the slayers cannot and should not be the ones that call the shots. What happened in Sunnydale proved that. More of our sisters should have survived that. And a lot more of them would have died if it hadn't been for him."

Xander nearly blushed at that. It took quite an effort to reign it in. He was about to speak when his phone rang. He checked the call while the others looked at him. His near expression of embarrassment died when he saw who it was. Fallon.

"I need to take this." Xander walked into his room and shut the door. The others watched him go, wondering at what the call could be about.

"What have you got?" Xander asked the hacker that had just contacted him as soon as he shut the door. He also turned on his computer.

"E-mailed the files. Took a bit of doing too. Whoever tried to cover it did a thorough job. Had to make my way through a bunch of databases. There were traces all over, they weren't subtle but they made sure the data was cleared out."

"How'd you find it then?"

"Xander. Xander. Xander. You know I can't tell you that. If I did, then anybody would be able to do it." Fallon laughed. He was the best at what he did, so Xander didn't give him too much crap.

"Okay." Xander said, he checked his e-mail, printing the attachment out as he scanned the file. It was what he was looking for.

"Looks good." Xander said after reading through the five pages or so of data. He had found his target.

"It should." Fallon stated, slight affronted. "I am the one that did it after all. Anyway, I'll get started on the others."

"Yeah. Thanks." Xander made to hang up.

"Wait. Why this one first. Before the others?" Fallon asked. Xander was a man of secrets, and he always had a reason for his actions. So the hacker, as a man who went after secrets professionally, was nearly forced to ask.

"C'mon. You don't show me yours, and I don't show you mine. Keep on it." Xander hung up.

In truth, he wasn't exactly sure himself why he had made the request in the way he had. Just seemed like the thing to do at the time. The Level 6 hacker had done a good job though. Fallon may be young, but he was good. He had been pulled from a nearly 30 year sentence for cracking the wrong system. Level 6 offered him his only chance of ever seeing daylight. Xander reckoned that hacker was better than Willow was, especially now. He still remembered DOS after all. Xander wasn't the best with computers, but he knew that things advanced so fast that one had to stay in the game if she wanted to be any good at all. Cheating with magic only worked to a certain degree. A lot like how it was in real life.

Xander put the printout into a large manila envelope. He set it down on his bed and turned off his computer. When he walked out into the main room, he saw that the two groups had decided to shoot the breeze in his absence. A good sign.

"Right. That's about it." Xander said. "I'll give you some time to talk with the Council. With Giles and Robin. Just so you know, I'm not going back to Africa for the Council. It's clean of slayers. I'll be working with the watchers, but on my own projects too. You can ask me to do things for you, and I'll give you what information I can, but I have the right to say no."

He paused. "I don't imagine this'll be an easy sell."

"Very well." Eduard said. He got up. "I think it's time to go."

Xander watched as they got ready to leave. It didn't take them long.

There was a great deal about the situation that he didn't like. And the wiretaps and bugs in the House couldn't get into the heads of the people that lived there. He walked over to Jack.

"Follow 'em." He whispered into the man's ear. "I want to know what they're going to report to the Council."

Jack looked at his boss. He nodded. The operative hoped that he wouldn't have to sanitize things. The team wasn't bad, and Linda was cute. He had a thing for blondes.

"Vi, can I see you for a minute?" Xander said, as the Council members were about to walk out the door on their way back to their own hotel.

"Sure." Vi said, a bit puzzled. It would be a bit suspicious for Xander to attract special attention to them now. She followed him into his room. She didn't need to look back to know that Eduard had a puzzled look on his face. As did Mary for that matter.

Xander closed the door after Vi had walked through.

"What's up?" Vi asked. She felt a bit nervous being alone with him and in such close proximity. It was his bedroom after all. If only a temporary one.

"Here." Xander said, handing Vi the envelope he had prepared.

"What is it?" Vi just looked at him. She didn't try to open the envelope yet. She wanted to know what was going on first.

"The Council. The old Council, hid their tracks well. It took some doing to dig it up." Xander said. He was angry. The secrets he had learned did not sit well with him. And the fact that Giles would undoubtedly have known about such things, if not took part in it, angered him further. He doubted that the new Council had taken any steps to rectify the situation.

"Hid what?" Vi asked. She didn't like the look in his eye. Whatever it was, it was bad. For somebody close to him at least.

"Your parents. They're in Colorado. And, you have a brother. He's 13. His name is Mark. Quite the ball player from what I understand." Xander looked into her eyes. Softly.

"My…my parents? A brother?" Vi whispered. Her head was reeling.

"I didn't want to tell you before I had something. Didn't want to get your hopes up. In case, I couldn't find anything." Xander babbled on a bit.

"What happened?"

"Best I can figure, you were identified at birth. Switched, with a stillborn. The watchers took you and trained you. One of a number of potentials." Xander had had his suspicions. His encounters with Kendra, now after years of experience, had taken on a different weight. She was socially maladjusted. Her whole life had been training for the fight. Parents usually didn't just let that happen. Maybe in some crap country where selling children wasn't uncommon, but it hardly explained all of the identified potentials. Not with their accents. When he had the resources, he looked into things. Vi especially after he had learned that she'd been trained by the watchers and not just found by Giles. She didn't have the most or the best training out of all the potentials though. That had bothered him for a while. Turned out that after Buffy quit and Faith went rogue, most of their experienced personnel started doing fields ops. That left the potentials without the best of teachers. The training had suffered.

"There's a plane ticket anytime you're ready." Xander continued. He wasn't exactly sure why he had chosen to do Vi first. There were others. He had given Fallon a list. But, had told him to start with the young redheaded slayer.

Vi suddenly rushed forward and hugged him. Hard. It caught Xander by surprise, and caused a feeling he wasn't quite sure he could identify. He put his arms around her, after a bit.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Vi said into his chest. She was sure she was blushing. Maybe he returned her affections after all.

But, a family. She had always wondered, but the watchers had told her that they had been killed. Murdered by vampires to get to her. It had been a lie.

"Would…would you come with me?" Vi asked, letting him go.

"If that's what you want." Xander said. He looked at the young adult before him. She had a different look in her eyes this time. He felt a bit out of his depth at this point. Far from the leader and soldier he had become.

She moved in closer again, and kissed him on the cheek. When she drew back, she saw that Xander had a goofy grin on his face. Something she hadn't seen in a while. There was definitely something there.

"I think they're waiting for you." Xander said, after he snapped out of his stupor. He opened the door for Vi to walk through.

He watched her leave with the others. As before, a part of him wanted to go with them. For a different reason this time.

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The small stonewalled room was dark. Two single candles set upon a low desk gave off the only light. A robed witch knelt in front of the desk. Watching and hoping. The dark brown egg that lay on it twitched. Just a bit.

The witch smiled. Her eyes started to glow as she chanted. Her hands came forward directing eldritch energies into the egg. The avatar lay inside. Unbeknownst to the young witch now casting the spell, the necromancer who had been a fellow disciple was dead. If she had known, she would not have cared. Anderson's ritual had been a success, his fate was meaningless. Her goddess was all.

The egg started to twitch faster, and began to crack. More and more it rocked, until it broke upon. A large black salamander with bright orange stripes crawled out, moving upon six legs. It gave off a heavy warmth, felt even by the witch.

"You have done well." The witch heard a deep, but feminine voice, in her head. Still, it was weaker than it should have been. "You have served admirably, unlike one my other disciples."

The salamander tilted its head, sensing something not in the room. "The key has not come forth. My servant has failed."

"What can I do?" The witch bowed her head low, noting that the salamander's eyes started to glow a bright orange.

"It is only a minor setback. There will be another." The salamander turned its gaze towards the acolyte. "The time is nearly upon us. Gather my forces. We have much to do."

"I live to serve." Amy said, bowing even further.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter 19: After Action Report**

"And that's my take on Xander's operation." Eduard concluded. He had given a two-hour presentation on what had happened in New York as well as the people Xander was working with. He could have gone on longer, but there was quite a bit that he kept to himself. In any case, the others had already been debriefed. They'd withheld some information as well, per his instructions. As the watcher in charge of the mission, he had gone last. "Uh. Any questions?"

"So, you think that we should go along with Xander's plan?" Giles asked. He was rather impressed with the operation. The description of the danger that had been bred beneath New York City had certainly caught his attention. They had had no word of anything happening, despite all of their contacts. Perhaps Xander could be of some use.

"Yes, sir. That is my take on the situation." Eduard fidgeted a bit. He was being debriefed by the head of their organization after all. Faith and Robin were there. As was Andrew.

"And their equipment?" Robin added. The setup that the field watcher had described to them spoke of significant reach. Military grade weaponry may not be that hard to find, if one knew where to look, but coupled with the arsenal that had been displayed last time, it did speak of more than what a garden-variety arms dealer could provide on a consistent basis.

"No serial numbers. They'd been filed off. And Xander was carrying a number of types of ammunition as I said earlier." Eduard was feeling a little uneasy. His previous experience working with Xander had demonstrated a man that felt much towards the concept of loyalty. And he was riding a very fine line. "I think it points to some type of armorer or some expert that's working with them."

"So what type of organization do you think Xander works for?" Giles said. The details of procuring advanced weaponry was not his forte. But, he had the sense that Xander was involved in something much larger than he let on. It did irk him that his young charge didn't see fit to be honest with him.

"I think its clear that he has support personnel that he did not talk about." Eduard replied. "He has contacts that supply him with information. Contacts that we were uninformed about. And, he has been there before. He was referred to as One-Eyed Jack. Do you think it could be him?"

"One-Eyed Jack?" Faith scoffed. "Sounds like something out of a comic book."

"I highly doubt that." Giles said, ignoring the senior slayer's interuption. "If such a hunter does indeed exist, he most certainly could not be him. Xander must have appropriated the name for his own use."

"I don't know." Eduard disagreed. "The men in the sewers certainly seemed to think it was him."

"But, those Morlocks were living in the world beneath." Andrew said, the first time he had spoken during the meeting. "How much could they actually know about such a brave and skilled warrior?"

Eduard rolled his eyes at that. "They seemed to know quite a bit about what was going on. And given what Xander left with them with, they certainly aren't just a group of homeless people. I don't know, but I get the feeling that there's more going on than what any of them are saying."

"So, who's One-Eyed Jack?" Faith put in. Intelligence meetings weren't one of her favorite pastimes, and she skipped quite a few of their conferences. Maybe she should be going to them more often.

"A rogue demon hunter of sorts. He showed up approximately 11 months ago." Giles turned to the young slayer. He was in full lecture mode. "His first recorded actions were in Mozambique. Apparently, a warlock was breeding hellhounds. He was found dead, his head impaled upon a pike, and his compound burned to the ground. The only thing confirmed was that the warlock was killed. Nobody has actual evidence of who was responsible. Only rumors."

"That doesn't sound so impressive." Faith put in. It was a bit disturbing, but hellhounds weren't that hard to deal with as long as there weren't too many packs of them.

"He popped up in Lisbon about a week later." Robin looked at his girlfriend, she could get a bit dismissive of others' actions. As well as a tendency to underestimate her opponents. "Sixteen members of the Arcturian Cult were found dead. Their bodies were butchered and nailed to the walls of their church."

"It's said that he supplied weapons to Hezbollah. That he has a bounty on his head by the Israeli government." Giles said. "The rumors also say that something happened in Vatican City. That he destroyed a church. There was no confirmation on that, or any possible motive."

"One time, it's said that he walked into the desert with thirty Sobekians." Andrew said, a bit in awe. "Only he walked out. They call him the Demon that Walks as a Man. People say that where he goes, Death follows."

"You're kidding me right?" Faith nearly burst out laughing at that. "Where'd you come up with that crock of-"

"Faith!" Robin said sharply. "As lyrical as Andrew made it sound, it is what people say. It's hard to tell exactly what really happened, but certain things are clear. Whoever or whatever he is, he is not someone to be messed with."

"Maybe we should just ask Xander then." Faith replied. "You know, talk with him?"

She was defending him. Maybe it was to make up for some of the wrongs she had done to him, or maybe it was just because the man deserved it. Or maybe a part of her knew that it was the right thing. It felt good to her to do that. Hadn't been that way for most of her life.

"I think the most important thing is what we need to do about Xander." Giles said, bringing the meeting back on topic.

"Nothing he's done has been to hurt us." Eduard said, after a bit of thought. "He may not have the same methods as we do, but he is doing the same things that we do. And doing them well."

"I know what you guys have said about him in the past." Robin added. "I know that he wasn't the best fighter in Sunnydale. Whatever he was, he's not anymore. He's got the ability to do a lot of good. But, he's dangerous. And I don't think we should get on his bad side. Ignoring whether or not he is this "Jack," he has the power to hurt us. I don't like this. But, we may have to go with it for now. He's proven that he can help us already."

"It's not like he has any real training. How much help could he really be?" Andrew gave his own opinion. "And, he's mean. He's no Wolverine, with a personal code of honor. Always apart from humanity, his gruffness coming from his personal quest to be civilized and tame the beast within."

The group just looked at the young watcher.

"And he saved a lot of innocent lives." Eduard said, turning back Giles. It was becoming increasingly clear to the more experienced field watcher that Andrew was not cut out for this line of work. He may have some magical aptitude and some knowledge of occult work, but he could not make command decisions. He was too self-centered and too egocentric to make the hard decisions. To swallow his pride and make the choice that was best for everyone, even if it meant the worst for himself. He'd seen Xander make those decisions. Eduard wondered why the short boy was sitting here now, instead of the man on the outside.

"I think it's clear then." Giles said. He didn't like the situation. He was losing control of things, but Eduard and Robin had made good points. Xander could contribute much to their organization. He had proven that the previous time he had come back. But, he couldn't really be trusted. But, they could work with him. "I believe that is it then."

Robin and Eduard gathered their things, preparing to leave. Faith watched them, wondering just how dense they were. "What about Vi?"

"Excuse me?" Giles said, a bit startled.

"Vi." Faith repeated. "You know, wacky hats? Redhead? Slayer? Ringing any bells?"

"Yes. What about her?" Giles said, wondering where the slayer was going.

"It's pretty obvious there's something going on between them. Mary even said he asked to talk to her alone."

"You believe that they're, dating?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "Considering how little he's been here, I doubt that. But, it's pretty frickin' clear that Vi has a crush on him. He could use that in the future. If you, if we, are wrong about him."

"I highly doubt that Xander would take advantage of her." Eduard said, feeling the need to rise to the defense of the man in question.

Faith scoffed at that. She'd defended the man, but he was a man, and if he wanted to mess with her sisters… "Maybe not. But, he could use her for other things."

"Then I believe we'll have to keep a closer eye on her then as well." Giles stated.

"So, what's the decision going to be?" Eduard asked. "Where do we stand?"

"He has brought something to the table. I think we should work with him." Robin said. It was something of a hard decision, but given the nature of their place in the current fight, it was the only one he could make. Xander had shown just how unprepared they really were. It was a valuable lesson.

Giles looked at this head field watcher. "I agree. However, he needs to be watched. I believe we should have Willow come up with something."

"I don't know if that's the best way to go." Eduard disagreed. "He has his own magical backing. Something that we don't know about. If we're detected…"

"Well, we can't trust him. It's obvious he's not with us." Andrew put in rather imperiously.

"Yeah, well, didn't you used to be the bad guy?" Faith interjected, slightly amused by the small man. "So did I for that matter. Way I see it, he hasn't done anything wrong yet."

"Quite right." Giles said. "I suppose we will have to work with him. For the time being at least. But, let us remember, he has been keeping secrets from us. We cannot trust him with everything and therefore must act with caution."

"I think we need to be clear on this. Xander is a danger." Eduard put in, trying to get the last word. "Whether or not that's to us or not is something we're going to decide."

Giles just looked at him. "I think that's everything then."

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"So, how'd everything go in New York?" Director Grainer said. He leaned back in his leather office chair. Looking into the eye of his lead man. He wondered briefly how'd he come to this. He'd led kids before. Vietnam. Iraq. But, those were trained soldiers. In a war. Xander's life had been war. It made him the same. And it made him different.

"As well as could be expected." Xander replied, a bit hesitantly. He'd been through the debriefing already. The director had asked him there for other reasons.

"And the kids in Cleveland?" Grainer pressed. He had the psych profiles of all of the agents he led. He could have a psychic brought in. Or a psychiatrist. But, talking to someone led to insights that other methods couldn't bring to light.

"I'm hoping they're having their minds blown, sir." Xander smirked.

The director grinned. "So, you think we can trust them."

"No." Xander said, smile disappearing. "Not yet at least. They're still viewing this like it's a movie. Good and evil. Black and white. They aren't ready. Not all of them anyway. And their egos are still in it."

"And yours isn't?"

Xander thought about it. "Not enough to matter."

"Alright." Grainer picked up a file from his desk, tossing it the man in front of him. "Matheson's star is falling in DC. He's going to be taken down. And his little black ops team is being brought back in. We've been offered anybody they've got. Who do you want? Finn?"

Xander looked through the file, and shook his head. It was a list and short synopsis of the remaining field personnel that made up the Initiative Mk. 2. It wasn't that impressive. "We already took anybody worth taking."

Director Grainer nodded. "I agree. Hell, there's a reason why they were used for the Initiative."

"So, what's going to happen to Riley?"

"No matter how badly, they've served their country. They're being let back into the divisions they were detached from, anybody that wants back anyway. We'll keep an eye on the rest. You have a concern?"

"No, it's just that, Riley's a good man. I wouldn't want anything to happen to him in case it was decided that events needed to be covered up. And he has a wife."

"Your good man let a known arms dealer go, because of his ex-girlfriend." Grainer looked at his agent. Loyalty was one thing. But, duty was another.

"I did too, if you remember." Xander, said a bit weakly. He tried to defend the only one of Buffy's boyfriends that he had respected. "And apparently it wasn't in his mission parameters to take Spike out."

"Only a coward hides behind mission parameters. You know that. And, you know better now." Grainer replied. "Finn, on the other hand, was a soldier. He knew better then."

Xander nodded. Slowly. It was the truth after all. He knew that while he would have done the same thing in the past, he wouldn't now. Such was his burden.

"Good." The Director paused, wondering how best to broach the next subject. "How much do you know about Project Epsilon? I mean everything you learned, not just what you were briefed on."

Xander shrugged. "Super-soldier program. Like Operation: Rebirth. Making the Five Million Dollar Man."

"And?"

Xander looked his boss in the eyes. "And, you're nearing human trials. The Initiative and ADAM's creations gave you a leg up. Drugs were a dead end. Which should have been obvious. So your geeks went to gene therapy. Combining demonic factors to create greater strength. And the limited access to slayer tissue I let you have to create an increased healing factor. Some other mojo too."

"Our geeks."

Xander rubbed his right arm. "Right. The rats looked good and there's no evidence of anything going wrong like happened last time. So Wesker wants to move to the next step."

"And how do you feel about that?" Grainer leaned in closer.

"We gotta do what we gotta do." Xander had been angry at first, when he heard about the project. The Initiative had tried it before, with less than adequate results. But, it was one of the reasons that Level 6 had been set up. Full military control this time, or at least ex-military. Xander wouldn't let the mistakes of the past happen again.

"But, you think it's a bad idea." Grainer had his own reservations about the program. But, fully backed operations like the one he was in charge of didn't come cheap. Even he had to make compromises.

"I think it could work. Slayers have been around for thousands of years after all." Xander said. "But, we shouldn't delude ourselves on what our homegrown Captain Americas are going to be used for."

"And protecting the country's never been a priority for you?" Grainer raised his eyebrows. Given what the one-eyed man had sacrificed, it was hard to believe that he wasn't something of a patriot.

Xander thought about it. "They say to think globally, and act locally. I guess back in Sunnydale it was also either about saving the people next to me, or saving the world. Nothing in between really came up."

"The first batch of soldiers has been chosen. They're moving into human testing next week." Grainer said. "They're fine men. And they're all patriots. I need to know where you stand."

"I thought we were clear on that when I came in."

"That was before you hooked up with your old group again. I need to know if anything's changed. Again, I need to know where you stand."

"I look out for my girls."

"No." Grainer shook his head. "_I_ look out for your girls. Remember, we're only allowed the latitude we have because they think you're the most efficient way of controlling the slayers."

"Working with the slayers."

"Right. Like I said, we're only here because of you. And they need to think that we stand with them. So keep your girls in line. Don't make me have to disappear any of them. You understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"This isn't about family to them. But, it is to you. And me. So do your job."

Xander nodded.

"Good. Now get outta here. We've still got work to do." Grainer turned to his computer, meeting over. They were harsh words, but both men knew that the director would do whatever it took to protect Xander and his chosen. And they knew that Xander had needed the reminder of just how precarious their position was.

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Xander heard the strains of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" as he walked towards his witch's small office. She was singing along, rather off-key, though that didn't stop her. He watched her for a while, before she noticed him. The witch was still working on the books that they had obtained in New York a short while back.

"How's it going?" Xander shouted above the music. He came up behind Cindy. Looking over her shoulder.

Cindy blushed, having been caught. She was a bit old to be doing either thing. She turned down the music, not all the way of course. Classic rock was classic rock after all.

"The boys downstairs finally cracked Vinge's laptop. I'm cross-checking what we have so far."

"Anything interesting?"

"Maybe. Check this out." Cindy brought up a document that had been stored on the computer. On it was a picture of a spur gear made of silver metal. It was the same gear that they had taken from Shaun Anderson's lair.

Xander quickly read through the description. He couldn't understand most of what it meant. "So, the Cliffs Notes say what?"

Cindy smiled at him. "It's something an archeological dig found in India in the 1940's. It was taken by Nazis during WWII and popped up again about 40 years after that. It moved around from museum to museum, but was finally stolen from the British Museum about 20 years ago."

"Right when Shaun left England." Xander frowned. Not a coincidence. And it tied Anderson even more to Vinge. Raymond Vinge hadn't just been recent hire if the cog meant anything.

"Exactly." Cindy nodded.

"And you got this all from the computer?"

Cindy shook her head, her short ponytail whipping behind her. "No. There was quite a lot of other research involved. With the books. Something I noticed that you were conspicuously absent for."

Xander smiled lopsidedly. "I'll have you know that I had a very important donut buying mission to go on. Had to get that last batch of marshmallow filled. There could have been pain."

The witch rolled her eyes, inwardly chuckling at the man she considered a younger brother. She turned back to the computer. "The language is unknown to anything I can find. It seems to relate to some African and Indian demonic languages, but the linguists couldn't pin anything down. Neither could Harry."

"And if our resident ethno-demonologist doesn't know…" Xander paused. "Wait, Africa. India. This could be from Lemuria."

"The band?" Cindy may have been a good spellslinger, but she was more concerned with the practical as opposed to the historical.

Xander laughed. "No. Mythical lost continent. You know. Like Mu. Or Atlantis."

"Oh, you mean like Agartha?"

"What are you talking about?" Xander asked, with a straight face. "Agartha exists. Really good barbecue."

Cindy looked at him skeptically. "Okay, moving on. It's composed of nearly pure platinum. There's some type of heavy metal mixed in that the tech boys can't id yet. It's like uranium, but not."

"Right. That's not all kinds of vague. So what else does the computer say?"

"Yeah, that's where it gets interesting. And bad." Cindy turned back to the machine. She scrolled to the next page. "Basically, it describes what Vinge thought it was."

"Which is?"

"Part of the great God Machine. It was designed to calculate something and somehow bring about the end of the world. You know, the usual."

"Run by cogs? I don't suppose Babbage designed this thing."

Cindy grinned at that. "Nope. Dating says it's only a couple of hundreds of thousands of years old. That's how long it's been in its refined state, not the natural ore."

"What?" Xander was shocked. His Lemuria guess might not have been too far off after all. "So this thing was made by giant chickens?"

Cindy looked bewildered.

"Sorry, fowl."

Cindy still looked bewildered.

"Mighty Max. You know, Virgil? Next stage in human evolution?" Xander asked. "Or did I just reveal how much of a geek I am?"

"We always knew that, we just try not to hold it against you." Cindy said with a smile. "We don't have much on it. We're going to have to dig up an expert on mythical languages, or lands, if you're right, if we want to translate this thing."

"Right. Snap some clear pictures, we'll take it with us once we figure out who to see. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Vinge was trying to get the rest of the pieces to this thing, but there was something else. Apparently even completed it wouldn't, or didn't work."

"So, that's a good thing."

"Not necessarily. There's something about quantum decoherence. Fallon says it relates to quantum computing. We're going to need to dig up an expert on that too."

"Right. So we need a book nerd and a techno nerd."

"And I'm sure that you'll just pull the right person out of your hat. Like you always do." Abigail said from the door. Cindy and Xander looked at her.

"Well, I do got a leprechaun with a Master's in computer science, but I think we should check with Giles first." Xander said with a smirk.

"Leprechauns. Next thing you know, you'll tell us you know an elf." Abby returned the expression. She walked closer to the pair and sat down on a stool at the main table. "One of these days, you're going to have to introduce us to these freaks. And tell us how you really got to know them."

"Yeah. One of these days." Xander said. "So ladies, unless there's anything else, I bid you adieu."

Xander tried to leave, but Abby grabbed his arm and forced him back into the chair. Slayer strength, so he got the message.

"So, what's up?" Xander chuckled nervously. "Is this about the inappropriate dreams I've had?"

Cindy and the young slayer shared a look. The kind of female intuition type of look that made men tremble.

"It's about Vi." Cindy said.

"What about her? She's not in trouble is she?" Xander said, concerned.

Abby smiled at that. It was so obvious, if not to Xander. "She likes you."

"I like her too." Xander said, missing the point. "She's my friend."

"No. I mean she really likes you."

"That. That's just dumb. Why would she do that?" Xander sputtered.

"Oh, I don't know, tall dark handsome stranger comes swooping in and saves the young girl." Cindy added her own take. "That type of thing is appealing to a young woman. Besides, it's not like you're hideously ugly."

"And that eye patch is quite the magnet." Abby put in. "Not to mention the things you've been doing for her. Specially for her."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Xander replied, but he was starting to get the idea. "And, I haven't done anything."

"Oh come on. We know that you pulled up _her_ parents first." Cindy said.

"Fallon talks too much." Xander grumbled. He made a mental note to severely kick the ass of one young curly haired hacker.

"Maybe. But, you have to admit it is kinda suspicious." Abby smiled. "C'mon. You'd be good for each other."

"What?" Xander nearly shouted. "She's a kid. I'm way too old for her."

"You're only 23. And she's 19." Cindy said. "It's not that big a difference. It's not like she wants to date a vampire."

"That's crossing a line." Xander snapped, a bit too harshly.

"Look." Cindy said quietly, touching his hand. "Just think about it. Okay?"

"Alright." Their commander gave in. "I got some calls to make. Let me know if you have anything else."

Xander walked out the door. The two women watched the man go. Hopeful for him.

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Author's Note: I don't hate most of the characters from the show, but quite a few of them did have some pretty bad choices and some morally indefensible actions. Xander included.


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter 20: Wetwork**

As Xander walked down the hall, his cell phone rang.

"The room." A voice said. Xander hung up the phone.

He started walking down the hall towards the elevator. A ride down and he went into the one room at the very bottom of the facility. It was a small room, with no furniture but for a small wooden table and a matching chair. An old rotary dial phone sat on the table. An overhead light with a single bulb was the only source of illumination. On the walls were painted symbols. Enochian protection runes. He flicked the switch to turn on the light and sat down on the chair. And waited.

The landline rung after a minute or so, and Xander answered it.

"Go." Xander said simply.

The voice on the other side whispered something in another language. A spell designed to hide the things that were not meant to be heard by others.

"One minute." The voice said in English. The speaker was seated in another room, halfway around the world. The room was nearly a twin to the one that Xander was in.

"What do you have?" Xander asked, keeping it short.

"What you asked for. It'll be in the usual place. Two days."

"Anything else?"

"A name. It'll be with the horn. I don't have anything else. The last two men that were sent failed. I'll have to find more."

"Okay. I'll wire the payment after I receive delivery." Xander hung up. He was a step closer.

Xander checked his watch. He had a call to make. He got up and turned off the light. He walked back to the elevator, headed towards his office. The room was set up for a single purpose. To make sure that certain communications stayed secret. From everyone and everything else. It was something he had come up with when the facility was set up. Their own personal Cone of Silence. Though, he had a secondary reason for its construction. Nobody else really knew. Not even the man on the other side of the phone.

It was a personal matter for him. As a principle, he held himself to a stricter code of conduct now. He'd seen what giving in to one's feelings could result in. But, this was something he couldn't let go of. One of the few personal grudges he let dictate his actions. For now though, it was time to get back to business.

Xander walked into his office, and closed the door. He sat at his desk and picked up his desk phone, making the call. He was back on the clock.

"Giles." Xander said, after the head of the watchers picked up the phone. "I have something for you to see. I'm coming in."

"What is it, Xander?" Giles asked. He was a bit surprised that the young rogue was asking him for help. From all recent actions, the man was dealing with things independently now. This may be the young man's attempt to reconnect with the leadership. The report of the inter-group mission in New York had been disseminated amongst the Council. Near and far. While some had reservations in dealing with the prodigal, they all understood how effective he was. Maybe he was wrong in letting the young man go astray, Giles thought. Andrew had turned out not to be as promising as he had previously believed. In fact, the newly trained watcher had requested to be pulled from field duty and moved to a more research based role.

"I'm sure that Eduard told you about it. It's old. Some writing I haven't identified yet." Xander said. "Get some people together. My feeling is that this could be big."

"Alright." Giles said simply. "I'll bring some people in. I think Willow could be some help with this. She'll be visiting Cleveland soon anyway."

Xander was a bit perturbed at that. He hadn't talked with the witch for a long while. Not after that fight with Kennedy. And she probably wouldn't feel the most amicable towards him after he showed up her girlfriend. But, he would have to stomach it if it meant figuring out what the cog meant.

"Okay." Xander said at last. "I'll bring by some pictures of the thing and all the information on it that we have. I'll be there in a couple of days."

He was about to hang up, but hesitated. "Giles. Thanks."

"Of course." Giles said, a bit taken aback. "Stay safe."

Xander put the phone down. His thoughts were on the future. Once the Epsilons were off the ground, he'd probably have to come out of the closet. The way of the world meant that sooner or latter the super soldier teams would run into the slayers. In fact, depending on how things went they might even become public. But, that was the future. Presently, he was working his way back into the Council. They might not have shown the best capability of late, but they had their moments. And a lot of potential that shouldn't be allowed to go to waste or be exploited. Not without a fight.

His mind wandered to the girl that had apparently developed a crush on him. She was definitely attractive, no doubt about that. But, in all the ways that he had become hard, she had not. She was an innocent, despite the blood shed. Xander didn't want to bring her down to his level. He shook his head, he couldn't think about that now.

He noticed a message on his computer, a new e-mail. It was from Fallon and marked urgent, so he opened it and read the note. It wasn't good news. No more slayers' families found yet. Instead the hacker had found a synopsis of the operation he had conducted in Cleveland. A bit too accurate for his liking. For sure it wasn't the cover story that the sweeper team had planted evidence for. Which meant that someone on the inside had leaked information out. Whether it was intentional or not only mattered in trying to find the one responsible.

The surveillance in place hadn't picked anything up, though it was rather limited. He'd have to figure out who it was without bringing things to his superiors. If they found out they might just call it quits and pillage the Watchers Council for anything of use. So he had to go outside. And a full press, even from independents, would only hurt them in the long run if it was found out. And he didn't have the resources to cover everyone. There was another way, Xander thought. Though it was hardly ideal. And he could only do it for one, the likeliest weak link. He just hoped that if it wasn't who he thought it was, that it would lead to whoever it really was.

Xander pulled out a cell phone. Not the one that he had been issued by Level 6. Not even the personal one that he had picked up. No, it was one that he had purchased secretly. For situations where he didn't even want the good people at Level 6 to know about. Plausible deniability was the phrase. He dialed the number. The call was picked up before too long. No one spoke.

"Barnes. I need a full team. Andrew Wells. He's not that observant, but there may be others watching, so keep them from getting too close. He might be a turncoat, or just an idiot. I need to know which, and who his contact is. I'll send you what I have."

"I do this, it'll cost you. I want access to a team."

"I know. You'll get it."

Xander hung up and put the phone. He busied himself with sending the promised e-mail to an anonymous account. He'd forward it on later to Barnes when he got the chance. As he finished, Field Director Lampkin walked in and sat down in the seat set in front of his desk. He placed a file folder onto the table.

"Good work on the Anderson op." Lampkin said, without greeting.

"Not good enough." Xander grumbled a bit. "But, we do have some leads."

"Yeah. Well, he was the target and he was taken out without any civilians finding out. The rest is frosting." Lampkin replied. He'd read the after action report. It had been hard on the kid, but he'd gotten the job down well. With no casualties on their side. All in all, a successful mission.

Xander picked up the folder and skimmed it.

"Sabir Fayed." Lampkin said, as Xander finished. "The brothers at Langley want him taken out. Special request."

"Because he has Wolfram and Hart on retainer." Xander said, referencing the dossier.

"Exactly. So they can't send in the CS to do it."

"Any particular reason why they want him gone?" Xander asked. "He funds training camps. He's no mastermind."

"He's the prodigal son of a rich man with many contacts. His father is rather progressive and could do quite a bit to direct matters to our interests. However, he isn't putting his not inconsiderable influence to use. He's been remarkably quiet in the Muslim community. And, not many know about what Fayed is doing. Including his father. I, and by I, I mean the people that call the shots, want this to change."

"So you want me to make it look like extremists went after his family. The family of a progressive, but nonpolitical Muslim. The martyred son spurring his father into action. Devious."

"He's going to die anyway. This way, at least he gets to do something good with his life." Lampkin explained. He didn't like the operation anymore than Xander did. It was politically motivated. And may not be in the best interests of the country. But, orders were orders. And it was hardly the worst thing he had been asked to do before. Ultimately, it may even end up doing some good, even if that wasn't the main objective to those that gave the order.

He continued. "Jack's going to be planning this and rigging the device, but I want you there to oversee it. Make sure that any of Wolfram and Hart's measures are dealt with. Some supplies have been set up. Explosives that can be traced back to a shipment that was stolen by Third Wave. He'll be with his family in New York in one day. An emergency trip so they don't have full security preparations in place. It's a perfect opportunity. You can make the strike there."

"Ain't this a little out of our ken? Terrorists aren't exactly our usual job." Xander asked. He wasn't exactly happy about what he was being asked. He'd done unsavory things before, many of them at the requests of his superiors. Cold-blooded murder wasn't the problem. Fayed was a financier of terrorism after all. But, the political machinations were troublesome. It was one thing to manipulate the guilty. How long until the puppetmasters started to manipulate the innocent? He was already on that path. How long until they stopped seeing the guilty and innocent as different?

"CIA is asking for a favor. That gives us all sorts of reasons to do it." Lampkin replied. He'd expected some complaints, but they still worked for the same agency. Which also meant that they were agents. It would have been better to have magical support, but of the active team members, only Jack and Xander had it in them to accomplish the mission without more than light grumbling.

"Okay. I'll get on it." Xander said. He watched as Lampkin left without another word.

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He walked into the House. A far different feeling than he had last time he went in. Different reaction too. He walked into the family room. A few of the slayers were in there watching TV. The news, surprisingly enough.

"Yesterday, the nation was rocked with another terrorist attack as a car bomb claimed the life of Sabir Fayed, noted businessman, and son of Habib Fayed. Officials have not confirmed the motive for the attack, but a video released on the Internet shows the extremist group, Third Wave claiming responsibility for the attack. The video goes on to explain that the attack was in response to the condemnation of their actions by more progressive Muslims." The pretty young reporter on the television said, getting it all wrong.

Xander watched from the back of the room, not yet announcing his presence. He'd just made the world safer for old white guys with oil interests in the Middle East. Or at least, that was the idea. Swell.

He walked forward, drawing the attention of the seated girls. "Hi, guys. Miss me?"

Vi, Monet and a few others turned to him. Vi looked at him with a smile on her face. Monet next to her. Xander watched as she nudged the redheaded slayer. He inwardly groaned at Vi's blush as she was caught. Covert was not her middle name.

"Hi Xander." Vi replied. The others echoed the greeting.

Faith watched the interplay from her own position on the other couch. There definitely was something there. It was like they weren't even trying to keep it hidden.

"Faith, you might want to come along." Xander said. He walked out of the room on his way to the stairs. He noticed that in addition to the head slayer, Vi also followed. No, that wasn't suspicious at all.

"Giles." He said, as he entered the room. He noticed that Willow was in there too. In the flesh this time. Kennedy was with her. "Willow. It's, good to see you."

"Xander." Willow said, without any real emotion.

Xander didn't make a move to hug her. Neither did Willow. All business. She hadn't gotten over it, but then again, neither had he.

"Right then. To business." Xander felt hurt, but he didn't let it show. He brought out the photos from his bag and a USB drive with the relevant files from the captured laptop. He walked to the main desk and put down the photos, spreading them out. The others in the room crowded around.

"This is what we found." Xander pointed at the first photo of the cog. It showed the whole thing. "Cog wheel, about a foot in length. Platinum and some unknown heavy metal alloy. A couple of hundred thousand years old."

Xander pointed to the next picture. A blowup, showing the etchings in detail. "My guys couldn't recognize the exact language. Best guess, African and Indian origins. Demonic in nature. Wild guess, could be Lemurian."

Giles scoffed at that. "Lemuria is a myth made up by overly imaginative geologists and occult writers."

Xander paused, staring at the older man. "Actually, it's real. Moving on, we don't have a translation. It's supposed to be part of a large machine, end of the world type device. An apocalypse engine of sorts. Files aren't clear on exactly what. Though it may have something to do with quantum computing."

"I'm sure I can translate it." Willow added. She barely looked at the photos. "I can dig up a translation spell."

"Which would translate the words." Xander stated. "Not the context."

Xander didn't like it. Magic could do all sorts of things, but intellect had its place. Magic wasn't the proverbial hammer to all the world's nails. Willow nearly turned red at that, but she simply glared at him. As did Kennedy, he noted.

"Good idea though." Xander continued, throwing the powerful witch a bone. "But we need something else. I know you got some of the texts from Wolfram and Hart LA Branch after it went down. There might be something in there."

"Good idea." Giles said, ignoring the little spat between his former charges. "I'll have Andrew get on it. He has the most experience with the source books."

"Okay." Xander didn't know exactly how to react. But, the man-boy had a decent handle on some of their more esoteric texts. "I'd check the Saitama Codex first."

Giles was startled. It was a good idea from the one-eyed man. And a reference to an obscure occult text. The former Sunnydale student had certainly come up in the world.

Xander smirked at the reaction. "Other thing. Quantum computing, I've sent word to the only guy I know that might be able to pull something together. Haven't heard from him yet."

"I'll take a look at it." Willow added again, boldly. Some of it hiding the anger and humiliation she felt from her former best friend's comment earlier. What did he know about magic anyway. It wasn't like he'd done any real magic.

"Alright." Xander nodded. "Maybe you can dig something up about what this is used for. Or what else is going to be needed. I don't think this shouldn't be an immediate concern. According to the laptop we grabbed, this piece won't easily be replaced. It's not like the world's going to end on Tuesday if we don't crack this thing. But, I wouldn't want to let it sit too long. Apparently it isn't the only one of these."

"Why didn't you bring it here?" Kennedy asked. She may have some support for the rogue now, but she still had her suspicions. And denouncing her girlfriend certainly got her hackles up.

Xander shrugged. He thought he had gotten through the headstrong slayer, but maybe not. Or the whole Willow thing was getting in the way. "Not allowed. My benefactors felt the piece would be best protected with them."

Xander phone rung, and he pulled it out. It was Richard. "I have to take this, I'd start going through the files on that drive."

He walked to the corner of the room, answering the phone.

"What's up?" He said.

"We need to talk. Set up a place." The faerie answered. He hung up the phone. The old warrior could always be a bit dramatic, it came with the territory.

Xander walked back to the group, they were reading through the files he had supplied. "Something's come up. I'll leave this here with you to work on. Let me know when you got something."

Xander hesitated, wondering if he should just leave. "Willow, it really is good to see you. Thanks for your help."

"I'm sure we'll have something for you soon." Willow said, responding to the affirmation of her worth. She'd show him just how good she could be, even without copious use of magic.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Chapter 21: Put to the Question**

He walked down the hall, with Vi following. She looked like she wanted to talk. Xander noticed that Faith was following them as well. He rolled his eye. Apparently nobody knew what being covert meant anymore. Sure, he wasn't some super spy, but at least he could follow someone down the street without getting blown in one block.

He stopped at the top of the stairs, wanting for the others to catch up. He turned around, looking at the two young women.

"Faith. Get Robin. I need to talk to him. I'll meet him in the kitchen." Xander said, turning his attention to Vi. He didn't even look in the older slayer's direction. "Vi, c'mon."

Xander walked down the stairs, not even giving the girls a chance to respond. He went into the family room and took a seat on the larger couch. Vi walked in a few seconds after. She looked nervous as she sat down next to him. Fairly close he noted.

"I gather you want to talk?" Xander said. He smiled a bit, trying to put the young slayer at ease.

"I, uh, I want to see them. My family I mean." Vi looked down. She had down a lot of soul searching, wondering if she should go back. If they would accept the daughter they had thought dead. The family she had never even considered until a short time ago.

Xander smiled a bit wider. "Sure. We'll have to come up with a cover story, but I'm sure we can find something. Uh, you want me to come with?"

Vi nearly threw herself at the man. Hugging him hard. Xander hugged her back, after a bit of shock. He could nearly feel the heat rising in the room. Damn, if it hadn't been a long time since any female had been this close to him.

"I take it that's a yes?" Xander said, a bit bemused. He was probably being a bit too visible with his interactions with the young girl, but at this point, it didn't really matter. It wasn't like she wasn't been pretty visible with it now that he was back in the circle.

Vi withdrew, a bit reluctantly.

"So, did you tell anybody else about it?" Xander said, straightening his shirt.

"I was going to, but I didn't think you would want me to." Vi responded. She had thought about it, there were still a few of the potentials turned slayers that had been watcher raised. None had known their families.

"I had thought about it, it couldn't hurt our cause." Xander said. In a way it would have been better if she had told the others. It would have divided the girls who were becoming rather close to the watchers. Even if the Council had been reformed, there were still members of the old guard, and it was even lead by an experienced and official field watcher. One who would have known what was going on. That would have given Level 6 an in. A way for them to dismantle the organization and take what they wanted. But, it would also have meant severely screwing with them. Emotional manipulation on a scale he wasn't sure he was comfortable with. Despite the things he had done. It was better that one of them made that decision. "But, that's your choice. I'll set something up and let you know."

"You know that Faith is listening in right now." Vi had noticed the senior slayer eavesdropping; she wondered whether or not Xander had. If it was part of some plan of his, like so much usually was.

"I imagine so." Xander replied, unsurprised. He knew that sooner or later he would have to bring in the older slayer. She had gotten pretty smart in her position, and played mother hen to most of the younger girls. A role she embraced. A good thing in Xander's opinion.

"You coming in?" Xander said, without looking to where he suspected Faith had been hiding.

"So what are you planning, X?" Faith said, with a wry smile. Whatever, the man was up to, he wasn't being very subtle anymore. She wondered if something had changed with his situation. If he needed the Council's help more than he was letting on. She walked in and sat down on the other couch, pulling her legs up under her.

"I'm planning on taking over the Council. Using them to rule the world. Or go off on some vengeance trip to avenge the friend that I killed when I was 15. But, I'm sure that I'll eventually trip over my own feet and make a fool of myself." Xander stated. He turned to look at her. He noted the smile on her face. At least she wasn't immediately hostile. "What do you really think I'm trying to do?"

"Not much according to Andrew." Faith shrugged. She never did pay much attention to his activities after all. Especially after he had moved half a world away. "But, Ed says some interesting things about you."

"I'll bet." Xander said. It looked like some of his past was coming back to haunt him. "So what's he say?"

"That you used to go by the nickname "One-Eyed Jack" in the last year." Faith replied. She pointed at his patch. "Certainly fits well enough. Bet you get to use the handicapped parking spots too."

"Yeah, cause I'm just that good." Xander said, a hint of hostility bleeding into his voice. He didn't need people constantly pointing out what he was missing. It was a badge of honor now. But it didn't change what it was. He didn't need to be reminded of it. "I'm sure that's why I was sent to Africa. You know, cause Andrew is so incompetent that he was promoted to a position where he couldn't screw things up."

Xander exhaled loudly. "Or maybe, I'm just whining because I think I'm better than I really am. Or, you know, maybe I'm doing exactly what I said I was doing when I tried to make peace with you. Doing what's best for the world. You think that's changed?"

"So you aren't him?" Faith pressed, noticing that she hadn't answered the question.

Xander leaned back. "All I'm saying is that things have a way of getting mixed up. Way I hear it, Spike and Andrew were the ones that saved the world last year. Pretty much all by themselves."

"You're not answering the question." Faith said in a throaty voice. She moved down the couch, closer to the other two.

"No. I'm not. And you really really don't want me to." Xander said. His face turned a bit pale. His voice was cold. She was getting a bit too observant. "Robin ready?"

Faith nodded, a bit annoyed that he wasn't going to answer. "Yeah."

"I'll meet you there." Xander said, meeting the slayer's annoyed gaze. "**I'll** meet you there."

Xander just looked at her, until she got up and went to the kitchen. Xander noticed that her stride easily displayed just how fed up she was with him. It was kind of fun actually. He turned back to the other slayer in the room.

"I should probably get to this. It was good seeing you again." Xander got up, a bit reluctantly. He walked towards the hall. He turned around before he left. "I'm probably going start being around here for awhile. Now that I'm not persona non grata around here. I'm sure I'll have the time to do something. Uh, with you. You know, if you want to…"

Vi giggled a bit. It was about as smooth as she had ever seen him. Which meant, not very. But it was sweet. She nodded. "Sure."

Xander smiled a bit at that. And walked out into the hallway on the way to the kitchen. On the way, the smile died, replaced by the normal blank expression he tried to keep on his face. He walked through the door noticing that Faith and Robin were waiting. Faith was seated on the marble countertop while Robin was leaning against it. He didn't look very happy, probably remembering what had happened last time they had talked in the room.

Xander leaned against the wall opposite the counter. "So what did you find out about the name I gave you."

Robin wasn't prepared for that. He had planned to play good cop to Faith's bad. "Uh, not much. His name appears here and there in a couple of Council records. Long enough so that he's not a normal human. If he is one at all. Mostly background. Source of a few deals, but that's about it. Nothing specific. What's so important about him? And what's his connection to Buffy's boyfriend."

"Wow. I'm all sorts of impressed by the depth of your detective skills, Shaft." Xander said dryly. He hadn't been expecting much, but there was more that could have been found out. That should have been found out. Even without the resources of Level 6 and his various allies, he had come up with more than that. Though that was mainly through various bribes/threats to assorted lowlifers. It also meant that Level 6 was pretty safe. If that was the most the Council information sources could come up with they would be fine for the moment. At least until they got their act together. Something that had only made an attempt to not appear evil to most had not caught their attention. It was unlikely that something that was intentionally kept secret would be found out. He hoped anyway.

"Well how about you answer a question now?" Robin bristled under the rather sardonic condescension from the other man. He'd been trained as a watcher and was now head field watcher. The other hunter, though much more competent than he had previously believed, was still no watcher.

Xander shrugged. "Sure. This about the weapons? The nickname? Or maybe it's about the guys I murdered? Or how much I know about the elusive Mr. Fairchild. Or did you just want to play 20 questions?"

"How about all of the above?" Robin crossed his arms over his chest. He was getting pretty tired of Xander's attitude. He may have defended him in the past, but it was getting out of hand.

"Right. See, I'm white. And I got this wicked scar." Xander said, playing the dick. Better they concentrate on that than on the lies he was telling. "And there are all sorts of militia types that look for guys like me. And circumstances saw fit to see them losing all sorts of equipment when they invite me in. Building up a little armory isn't all that hard."

Robin raised his eyebrows while Faith rolled her eyes. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Not really. Truth is Riley hooks me up." Xander lied. It wasn't like they would be able to find the soldier. "We got a thing where he gives me weapons. And I do my job. And no, you don't get any. Considering how bad it would be if this stuff just got left around, I'm sure you understand why I'm not going to share."

Robin thought it over. It certainly seemed to make sense. "Alright. And why the people in the sewers called you One-Eyed Jack?"

Xander let out a laugh. "Man, I got one eye. What else they going call me? That some hunter calls himself that is just proof of how common it is. I mean, sure, I used Nighthawk when I was in high school, but that was years ago. Honestly, who even believes that crap?"

"Wait, but you said that I didn't want to know?" Faith put in. She was sure now that he was keeping something hidden. She'd seen the truth on his face during their conversation in the front room.

"I know." Xander smiled at her. Eye twinkling. "And it was so fun watching your reaction."

Robin watched the interplay between the two. "Alright. That's enough. You did kill those two guys. What kind of example do you think it sets?"

"That you should only kill people when you're sure you can get away with it. And to make sure you always police your brass." Xander replied flippantly. He looked at Faith. "And I guess to make sure you're doing it for a completely rational reason. And not by accident. Or because some sugar daddy tells you to."

"X. So help me…" Faith hopped down the table. She took a step forward, but stopped.

Xander knew it wasn't the best thing to be doing. It surely wouldn't help with the peace he had brokered with her before New York. Of course, considering what he had done there, he would have to start shaking things up to get the place he wanted. He could still feel the hostility that some of the members of the Council felt towards him. The slayers were warming up, but the watchers, who ultimately ran the Council, weren't all with him.

"Do it. C'mon, I just know you're itching to. You want another taste of trying to kill me don't you?" Xander said, looking her in the eyes. "Where's the fire?"

"Xander!" Robin shouted. Taking a step between the two. "That's enough!"

Xander turned to the watcher. "And that's my point. It may start as anger. I feel just as much as you. But, I don't kill because of it."

Xander sighed. He wasn't sure where all the hostility was coming from. But, he was pretty sure part of it was the murder he had recently taken part in. Setting up a situation to manipulate a decent man with the death of his only son. And it hadn't even been for a particularly valid reason. It was the guilt, he decided. At least in part. "I already went through this before. You want my opinion on this, then you ask the people that were there. I'm sure you guys debriefed your team for hours. You don't like what I did. I get that. I don't like what I did. But, it was the best course of action. And if you want to fire me from your little Justice League, then fine. I'll turn in my ID card and decoder ring. What's it going to be? I'm sick of you questioning. Either I'm in, or I'm not."

Robin just looked at him. They held themselves above murder. They were supposed to be the good guys. Righteous in action. But, Eduard had argued fairly successfully about the necessity of the acts. He wasn't sure that was the path the Council should be on, but there hadn't been an alternative. Not one that would have resulted in fewer deaths.

"Fine. Now about the name you wanted me to look into. What's so important about it? And how's he connected to Buffy's boyfriend?" Robin made his decision. He saw that Faith was still angry; he would have to talk to her about it later.

Xander just looked back at him. "They're one and the same. And if that's all you got, then you seriously need my help."

"That was a test?" Faith said, rather heatedly.

"All life's a test." Xander retorted. "This is the big game. And it's better that you learn now where your deficiencies are than when it really matters. Buffy's isn't contributing much, but Andrew hangs with the two correct?"

Robin nodded. "Right, so?"

"So, you'd think that the Council would have investigated the new boyfriend of who is nominally the most famous slayer there is. Andrew's a watcher, so why doesn't he have any information? Was he even looking? Hell, even I know his real name. So, why didn't you?"

"Okay. So we don't have all the answers." Robin said, a bit dejectedly. Whatever the tone, Xander wasn't wrong. "What's your point?"

"That you don't have time trying to find out what I'm really after. What I'm trying to do." Xander said. "The time's coming and you're already playing catch-up. You don't have time to waste on me. You don't think I noticed the tails? That's manpower you can't afford. You either start trusting me now, or I'm gone. I'm getting pretty tired of this."

"But, you've been keeping things from us. How can we trust you?" Robin said, coming closer to the man. He wasn't satisfied with all the responses. Some of them seemed rather rehearsed.

"Man, you don't tell me everything either. Neither does she." Xander retorted. "Drop it. Now."

Xander turned towards the door. "Remember. I don't have to do this. I'm not here for you. And I'm not here for me. You keep trying this and I'll leave. And I'll take _my_ slayers with me."

He turned back. "You aren't the only one watching. How many do you really think are loyal to you?"

As he walked out the door, he called back. "Faith. C'mon we need to talk. Alone."

He continued walking as Faith caught up, meeting her down the hall a ways to prevent Robin from hearing. He turned around to face her.

"I was hard on you." He said. "You didn't deserve it. Well, not all of it."

She simply glared at him. Not saying anything. She was rather hurt for some reason.

"I got you angry. Angry enough to react." Xander continued. He had reacted badly in there, he knew that. He had taken it out on an easy target. He knew that he should make amends. "Could have led to blows. But you stopped yourself. Even before Robin interrupted. I could tell."

"What's your point?" Faith said at last. She was still pretty angry, but kept it in.

"You're the head slayer. Not Buffy." Xander looked at her carefully. Studying her. He needed her to be strong in this. "You need to watch out for them. People are going to come for them. You've lost slayers already. And, you can't screw up. Not this."

"You don't need to tell me that." Faith said. She was cooling down a bit. But, she was still a bit angry about him questioning her drive to protect the other slayers.

"I've kept tabs. You're keeping them together. And out of trouble. I guess you've got some experience in that."

The slayer winced at that reminder of their past. Inwardly she was a bit elated that he did think that she was doing a good job. A complicated mess of emotions. "I am sorry, you know. For trying to kill you."

Xander stared at her. He wasn't quite sure how to take that. But, then again, he had to start somewhere. "Alright. We both made mistakes. But, a lot more is on the line now."

Faith nodded. She could accept that. "What about Vi? I've seen the way you look at her. And the way she looks at you. Looking to tap that, X?"

She threw him a smirk, going back to the old carefree personality.

Xander just looked at her. Gauging the slayer. "Somewhere along the line, she started to matter. You mess with her and you won't even hear the shot that takes you."

Xander could see that she got the message. "Let's just put it this way. I do my best to look out for all of them. You included. That sometimes calls for hard choices. But, they are choices I will make."

Xander walked back down the hall, the conversation was over.

"So what changed, Jack?" Faith called after him. The coldness and the brutality. The ruthlessness. Things she had never seen in him before. She wondered what could have happened to bring him to this.

The one-eyed Xander didn't turn around. He just shifted his head to the side. The harshness he presented was something that he could tell made the Council anxious. Faith, it seemed, was still trying to reconcile the boy that he was in high school with the man he was now. Truth was, he had made tough calls in Sunnydale too. It was only that nobody really found out about them. "Nothing at all."

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Author's Note: Ah, no reviews. You're making baby MODOK cry.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Chapter 22: Romeo Sierra**

It was a week later when Xander walked back into the House. He had had a bit of contact, mainly keeping up with their efforts to translate the writing on the artifact he had shown to them. But, not much more than that in an official capacity. He'd rented a small apartment nearby in order to make it look like he was based near them. The accounting department hadn't been too happy when he passed the expense reimbursement form to them. On the other hand, it did let him have room to keep his own business separate from the Council's attention. And they didn't try to tail him as they did last time.

He walked into the main conference room setting up the computer. He waited until Giles walked in with Faith and Robin. Xander watched as they sat down. They seemed a bit curious why he had asked for them to meet him there, but at least they weren't too antagonistic.

"Right, something's comes up." Xander ran the slideshow. A picture of a thirty-six year old male appeared, along with the relevant statistics. "About six months ago David Sutton was assassinated. You probably heard about it on the news."

Giles and Robin nodded.

"Who?" Asked Faith.

"An up and coming politician. The word was that he had a decent shot at the White House. Well, until someone gave him another hole to breath out of." Xander answered, flipping to the next slide. A shot of a newspaper headline about the death.

Xander flipped to the next one. "There weren't any leads. Until now."

The slide showed a young Caucasian female. Blonde hair, fairly tall. Not much else could be made out from the picture. It was a blowup of a surveillance photo taken in Chicago. Xander flipped to the next slide. A better picture of the young woman. Blonde hair, blue eyes. LA native.

"Rosemary Hawthorne. " Xander identified her. "17 years old. Sutton was her 14th hit. And her most high profile one at that. The Terakans are thinking about recruitment. They're grooming her."

"What does this have to do with us?" Giles asked. He had heard about the assassination, but hadn't given it much thought since it didn't involve them.

Xander looked at him. "She started about a year ago. Prior to that she didn't get into too much. Parents didn't amount to anything. Ran with one of the gangs in LA. Assault, breaking and entering, theft. Still, must have been pretty tough. Somehow about a year ago, she got her hands on some powers. Super strength, agility, speed. Ambition. Went into the killing business. And as you can see, she's pretty damn good at it."

"So what are you saying, X?" Faith started putting it together. "She's a slayer?"

"Bingo." Xander responded. He went to the next slide, a list of her previous targets. Mostly criminals of various sorts, many related to larger organizations. Mafia. Russian mob. One of the tongs. "She got them on vacation in Brazil. Made her way through Sutton's entire security detail. Ten of them are dead. The only one left lost his arm. He couldn't even make a positive identification. She killed Sutton, his wife, and their two kids. Messy, but very very thorough. And, she got away clean."

Giles and Robin looked a bit incredulous, and sickened. They had been rendered speechless.

Xander leaned down and pinched the bridge of his nose. He closed his eye. "Don't. It's not like you shouldn't have foreseen this."

"We couldn't have." Giles tried to defend himself. Defend the Council and their actions. "Something like this has never happened. It's the same thing with Dana. Slayers are meant to be guardians. They're specially chosen."

Xander looked back up. He looked at Faith. "Right, because no slayer's ever gone bad and started killing people."

Faith couldn't meet his look.

"Too many people know it was her. People with pull." Xander said, continuing. It had been a cheap shot, but still. They needed to start dealing with the consequences of their actions. And to start using some forethought. "We need to find her now. I'm going to need a team. Faith, get your stuff together. As much gear as you think you need. And a spell slinger. Someone that can cast tracking and cloaking spells. Main hall in ten minutes."

"Xander, we need to discuss this first." Giles said. They would need to bring the errant slayer in. To try to find some way to help her. But, it should be a Council operation.

"She's in Mexico. And I'm not the only one that has that." Xander retorted, he started shutting down the computer and pulling his key drive. "Clock's ticking."

Xander walked towards the door. Faith started to follow him.

"Xander, wait." Giles said, calling after him.

The younger man turned and walked to where his superior sat. "In the official terminology, it's known as Romeo Sierra. Rogue Slayer. There's an agreement among the different countries that any verified rogue is executed on sight. The official euphemism for that is "retirement." Apparently, that's with extreme prejudice. Blade runner-esque, but you get the idea. Doesn't matter where she comes from or how old she is. Or if the crime even happens on their turf. One country asks, every other will answer. Fuerzas Especiales is probably on its way right now to deal with it. I'm not exactly keen on that happening. Are you?"

Xander looked at the slayer. "Why are you still here?"

He walked out the door and headed for a bedroom about halfway down the next hallway. He hoped that she was there. He knocked on the door, waited for a response, and opened it. Xander saw that the slayer he was looking for was there.

"Xander. What's up?" The pretty dark haired slayer looked up at him from her position on the floor. She had been reading a novel. She saw the grim expression on his face.

"Monet. Get a bag together. RS in TJ." Xander said. He watched as she got up and quickly packed a bag. Weapons that had been stored in her room went into a large duffle. "The door in ten minutes."

"Why me and not Vi?" Monet said as she stuffed a nine-millimeter into her bag. She was one of the slayers he had found in Africa. She wasn't African though. She had been on vacation with her parents in Egypt, when he had caught up with her.

"I need someone I can trust to do this right if things go bad." Xander replied.

She looked at him. "Are you protecting your girlfriend or am I really the best one for this?"

"She doesn't have any experience with things like this. You do." Xander said. That wasn't the whole truth though. "And I'm trying to protect her."

"Okay." Monet said, zipping up her bag. She knew that he had personal feelings for the other slayer. She also knew that he wouldn't let it affect his decisions. "Do we have any backup on this?"

Xander closed the door. "Scott's team is on its way. The others are needed elsewhere. The beta team will be shadowing us, but we have the lead on this."

Xander opened the door and walked out into the hall. He went downstairs to wait for the others. It didn't take them very long. Faith came up with a thin redheaded man he knew by acquaintance. Kurt McNamara, one of their more experienced wizards. Lacking in pure offensive power, but he had a pretty vast range of other magic at his disposal. He noticed that Robin came in behind them with Monet coming down the stairs carrying her bag.

"Right, can I do something for you?" Xander looked at the only watcher in the group.

"I'm going with you." Robin said. "Giles thinks that a watcher presence is necessary for this mission. As do I."

Xander looked at him, then shrugged. "Sure, but you guys are going to have pay for this one."

"What, your bosses getting stingy?" Faith cocked an eyebrow.

"No. Rogue slayers aren't exactly on their list of high priorities. I'm doing this one on my own. Which is also why it's just going to be us. None of my team's coming."

Xander picked up his own bag and pulled out some leather wallets. He passed the first one to Faith.

"Alice Monahan." Xander said. He noticed that Faith's eyes widened after opening the wallet and seeing the LA police badge and ID.

Xander passed the next one to Monet. "Nicole Hart."

He walked to Robin and gave the watcher the last of them. Xander watched as he opened it up. "I figured you'd want to come."

"Leslie Schumacher? " Robin said, looking at Xander.

Xander grinned. "My fake ID's, my names. Oh, and I'm going to need those back at the end. So make sure you don't lose them."

"And what's yours say?" Faith asked.

"Jake Burton. Justice Department." Xander smirked. He turned to the side, making sure the others couldn't see the left side of his face. He took a small box out of his pocket and flipped it open. Xander took of his eye patch and stuffed it into his pocket.

He took up the glass eye and placed it into his left eye socket. He turned around, and blinked awkwardly a few times. He saw that most of the others seemed a bit offput by it.

"Wait." Kurt said with a bit of hesitation. "What about mine?"

"Why would you need one, Magic-boy?" Xander looked at the wizard. "Time to go. Car's waiting."

The others grabbed their own gear and walked to the door, walking out while Xander took up the rear. He noticed that Vi came out of the family room and waited by the door. He stopped in front of her.

"Xander." Vi said. She laid a hand on his arm. She stepped a bit closer and stroked his left eyebrow delicately. She smiled. "You don't look like yourself. Be careful."

"Always." Xander leaned in and kissed her.

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Xander sat on the hood of the car and waited. The others were milling around the outside of the car. He watched a small pair of lights come closer. His contact was finally there.

The car pulled up and a small dark haired man got out.

"Vince. You're late." Xander said. He watched the man open up the large door that they were waiting in front of. It was a small warehouse set on a small airstrip on the outskirts of the city. The lights were already on inside and the small plane had been fueled up.

"We got time." The pilot said. He got back in his car and drove it inside. Xander did the same with his.

After they had stowed the cars, Vince started to run the pre-flight check on the plane while Xander started loading their gear.

"What's the plan?" Robin asked as he helped him load the plane. The others just stood off to the side wondering what they should be doing.

"We're flying to LA. Then driving down to Tijuana. A little luck and she should still be there." Xander finished with their bags. "Or we'll pick something up about where she went."

He motioned the others over. "Alright. You're all LAPD working with the Federales. I'm there to observe. However, I don't expect to have to use this cover story. So keep your mouths shut and don't do anything to attract attention. This also means you're all going to be packing guns. Faith, Robin, Kurt, yours are going to be empty. Don't forget that, and don't be going in all Dirty Harry on anyone."

Vince walked up. "Plane's ready. Our exit window's only open for another five minutes."

"Alright." Xander started for the plane. "Let's go."

As they walked to the door to the plane, Robin held him back. They let the others go onboard first.

Xander looked at the hand on his arm. "What's up?"

"How'd you pull this off?" Robin said. "We just drive onto some small abandoned airstrip, no security, no customs check. We're going to get onboard a plane with a load of weapons, and nobody's going to even know the flight took place. How are you doing this?"

"Didn't we just go through this?" Xander said, a bit tiredly. "Get on the plane and forget about it."

"Xander." Robin went on.

"Rules of the game. I pay a lot of people to make things go my way. I don't ask questions how. Neither do you." Xander looked him in the eyes. "Now get your hand off of me."

Xander brushed past and got on the plane. Robin followed. There wasn't anything else he could do.

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Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I addressed some of the issues in my profile.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

**Chapter 23: South of the Border**

Xander closed the curtains to the small motel room that he had rented for them. The view of the dusty street was blocked, though bright sunlight still filtered in through a few holes in the curtain. He didn't want anybody watching in. He placed a small sonic device on the end table closest to it and turned it on. It would distort the vibrations off the glass, just in case someone had a laser mike pointed at the window. Paranoid, but there might have been Terakans around, scouting one of their potentials. And they certainly wouldn't like the team that was sent in to take her out.

He had noticed a small Latino looking man seated in the open-air section of a restaurant in front of their second story room. The man was rather surreptitiously watching them. It was Diego Ramirez. One of the members of Taylor's backup for him. Scott's beta team.

"Right. Here's what I know." Xander turned around to face the team he had assembled. They were sitting at a lopsided wooden table that had a local map on it. Their weapons bags sat on the floor near the beds. "She showed up about three days ago."

"How do you know that?" Robin looked up from the map. He didn't really get why they were looking at them. "Is your source reliable?"

"I put word out on the network that I was looking for hitters a while back." Xander replied. "Highly specific, for a certain operation. Only young females with superhuman capabilities need apply. Close in work, no weapons. A fishing expedition basically, just in case any rogues decided to turn professional."

"So, you just happened on Rosemary Hawthorne by accident?"

"Yes." Xander pulled out a file from his shoulder bag. A dossier. He walked up and laid it on the table. "Hector Morales. He's a fixer for independent hitters, amongst other things. He has access to some pretty top level talent."

Xander flipped open the file. On the top of a few written pages was a mugshot of a Mexican man in his fifties. "He called me two days ago and said that he had a line on a young assassin that fit what I wanted. She'd just come back from a job, but was ready for another. That's why I'm down here. I asked specifically for an audition. Apparently his choice is a bit squirrelly. I won't get a face to face until a contract's in place. That our girl. Right there."

"How do you know that?" Robin pressed. "Slayers aren't the only superpowered girls. It could be a vampire after all."

"True." Xander conceded. Robin was certainly getting the swing of intelligence planning. "That's not the case here. I made sure."

"How exactly?"

"Day time job." Xander looked at the field watcher. "Are you done trying to poke holes into a ploy that worked?"

"How'd they find out that it was this slayer that offed Sutton?" Faith was annoyed at the posturing her boyfriend was doing as well as Xander's antagonistic response. She inwardly chuckled. A bit amused that she of all people was trying to calm them down. Still annoyed though.

"I have my sources." Xander said vaguely. "But, there was independent confirmation after I had the name. And Morales' jacket for his hitter lists Sutton."

"By who?" Faith was curious. Xander certainly seemed to have all sorts of contacts. It made their own network seem rather paltry. Most of that consisted of a few snitches that they routinely threatened, and some old connections that Giles had from his days on the Council.

"You wouldn't know the name." Xander brushed off the question. It hadn't taken that much, just a few contacts in the information game allowed him to find out just about anything about anyone, provided he had the cash. "Morales runs a bar. El Toro. The spot I marked on the map. I'm going to be meeting him there in about twenty minutes."

"So what do you want us to do?" Monet was committing the map to memory. She was looking for ways to the bar and away from it. Different exfiltration routes for different hypothetical situations.

"You're going to be driving. If things go bad, you're our best shot out." Xander looked at the slayer. She was a good driver. One of the best he'd seen. Along with a few other things. "Faith, Robin, you're backing me up. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to give you loaded guns for this part. Kurt, you're staying with Monet covering our exit. I'm going to need a telepathic link so you can let me know if anyone suspicious is lingering around or coming in after us. Don't go snooping around. I wouldn't advise it. Any questions?"

Nobody moved.

"Okay, here's what we're going to bring with us." Xander walked to one of his larger bags and put it on the bad. He pulled out a few bulletproof vests. "Faith, Robin you'll be wearing these. You'll be carrying holstered handguns along with knives. You'll also be equipped with ankle guns. Make sure the safeties are kept on at all times."

Robin and Faith walked forward, letting Xander help them strap the vests on. While they didn't have a real good idea on how to wear them, they could see that Xander clearly knew how they worked.

Xander finished, strapping them in tight. "Monet, help Kurt with his."

Xander prepped their guns, loading them and handing them to his new bodyguards. He kept a large forty five for himself.

"You guys set?" Xander asked as they straightened their clothes to hide their new weapons.

Faith and Robin nodded. They were a bit surprised by what Xander had brought with him. It wouldn't have occurred to them to this if they were running the mission.

"Okay." Xander said. He grinned. "Walk around a bit. Get comfortable with the weight. I don't want you guys looking like you just put those on."

Monet started filling another bag with her own weapons after she helped Kurt with his vest. She placed an AKS-74U, making sure that the buttstock was properly folded and wouldn't get caught. She added a few spare magazines. Along with an Uzi. Into the front pocket she added a few grenades, zipping it up as she finished. Then she put on her own body armor, covering it with a hoodie.

Xander walked to the corner of the room in front of the only mirror. He strapped on his own gun and secured an ankle holster around his own ankle. He didn't like the fact that he, as the boss, couldn't wear his own armor. The type of man he was portraying wouldn't be.

"Monet." He called behind him. "Let me check that out."

Monet walked over to him, letting Xander carefully look over her vest. Adjusting it, and making sure it was centered correctly.

"If things get buggy, get out. Make sure that Kurt keeps his head on." Xander whispered in her ear. Low enough that even from that close distance only a slayer could hear it. There was no way for Faith to eavesdrop from where she was. "Scott's guys are already here. D's going to be tailing us. The rest should be in place by now. We can't walk in with earpieces, but make sure you have yours in. Go code's gringo. Keep back, and let them work. I don't want you getting in the way."

Monet had a grim look on her face. She didn't like the way things were going down either. Far from home, and she was babysitting a rookie while her commander had to go in with people who were far less competent than who he should be going in with. She nodded.

"Okay." Xander said, in a louder tone. "Looks good. Time to go."

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They pulled up to an alleyway next to a small pharmacy. It was next to the bar that was their destination. He had Monet back the car in to about a quarter way down. Xander looked back from his position next to the driver. His gaze settled on Kurt, the weak link in the day's job. The man was an experienced wizard, but he was a book man. He hadn't done too much field work. Most of the Councils' magic users these days hadn't.

"If things start turning, I'll send you a message if I can. If that happens, then you do what I think as quickly as possible. Keep the link active. If it's lost you know what that means, right?"

"Right." Kurt exhaled loudly. "It means that you're unconscious and I should go to Faith, then Robin. If I can't reach any of them I should tell Monet to get us out."

"Good." Xander said harshly. "Now what are you looking for?"

"Anybody suspicious." Kurt was reciting from memory. "Anybody that goes in that looks like he's carrying a weapon. Heavy or baggy clothing. Anybody loitering around. Men or women."

He looked at Xander.

"I got it." Kurt replied, a bit frustrated. Xander had been over the plan a couple of times already during their drive there. He was part of the Watchers' Council. The premier defensive organization against evil. That alone should have meant something. He didn't need to be constantly reminded like he was still an apprentice, Kurt thought.

Xander reached back and grabbed the front of the wizard's shirt, pulling him close.

"I know." Xander said through grit teeth. "Because you know that if you screw up you're never leaving here alive. I for one am not planning on dying in some godforsaken pit in Mexico. Are you?"

Xander pushed him back. The Council lackies could get annoying. But, at least they were competent. He hoped at least, which was why he had brought his own support. "Robin, ready?"

Robin nodded, a bit surprised by the reaction. Xander was wound pretty tightly for this. He wasn't exactly sure why. It was different than how he had reacted the previous time he had seen the one eyed man in action. Maybe he wasn't used to having to work with them again, the watcher thought. He started to open the door.

"Wait." Xander said. "Leave your wallets and ID's here. Badges too. We're going to be searched so make sure you aren't carrying anything you don't want found. You still go by your fake names though. Alice, Leslie."

Xander pulled out his own fake ID and placed it in the glove compartment. He waited until they had passed him their own and he had placed them next to his before opening his door and exiting the car, making sure that the sawed off shotgun he had brought with him was still hidden on the floor as he got out. He walked down the alley with the other two in tow.

Before they reached the front of the alley, Xander stopped and turned around. "Faith. You can't show any super powers or anything. Otherwise someone's going to wonder why I don't just use you. Got it?"

Faith nodded.

"And don't let them get you riled." Xander looked at her carefully. "I need you to be cool on this. As good as you are, I don't think we have a real good chance of making it out of there if you go off halfcocked cause some jerk cops a feel."

"Fine." Faith grunted. She wasn't one to play it subtle, but she understood why Xander had made the request. And to be fair, past history did prove his warning necessary, as reluctant as she was to admit it.

"You'll be playing my bodyguards. So stay behind me and watch my back. You're employees, so don't do anything to contradict me. Understand?"

Robin and Faith nodded. Xander started forward again.

"Why am I the bodyguard?" Faith questioned. Sure she was tough, but it seemed a bit strange to her that Xander would have her of all people watching out for him.

Xander looked back at her. "What, you wanted to be my girlfriend?"

He smiled. "I don't think your boyfriend would appreciate that. Besides, what would Vi say if I went around pretending that the second prettiest slayer around was my girlfriend?"

Faith glared at him. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay. Okay. I need Monet to drive. Kurt's got some skill, but he's a pushover when it comes to combat." Xander said. He'd never worked with the team he set up before. That was enough to make him wary. It was little consolation that he had a backup team, considering that they had to stay a fair ways away. And there was the objective for their mission. That was a whole other problem. "And Robin by himself isn't going to cut it. He plays a halfway decent brooding Bruce Wayne, but he's no Batman. I need someone tougher than that watching my back if things get messy."

"Hey." Robin interjected, angered by the slight.

"And he lets his emotions cloud his judgment." Xander ignored the comment, which proved his point. "So do you as a matter of fact. I figure that you'll keep each other honest. You know, since you all care about each other."

Xander looked down the alley, there wasn't anyone watching. "Besides, I trust you."

Faith looked stunned at that revelation.

"Let's go." Xander walked out of the alley and down the sidewalk, paying no heed to her reaction. It was time she heard the words from him. He noticed a few men he recognized in different places along the street they were walking on. Xander opened the door to the right establishment, and entered the bar.

He looked around, noticing that there were only a few men seated. Locals from the look of it. Heavily muscled and tough looking. Heavies. This wasn't some tourist joint, that was clear. He walked up to the bar. Anybody suspicious around, Xander thought.

"It's clear." Xander heard in his head. He was only vaguely reassured by that. On the one hand, the wizard hadn't notice the backup team he had in place. On the other hand, Ryan's men were supposed to be some of the best. And they'd arrived there early enough not to be noticed now.

He caught the bartender's attention with a wave of the hand. "I need to see Hector Morales. Tell him that Jake is looking for him."

The bartender picked up a phone from the countertop and spoke softly into it. After a moment he put it down and motioned one of the other people in the room forward. The most heavily muscled and largest of them. Nearly six five with thick black hair pulled into a ponytail. He was smiling, but it certainly wasn't friendly.

The thug walked forward, motioning Xander and the others to go ahead of him. They went behind the bar and into a room set in the back. They walked through and up a cramped set of stairs.

At the top, the man behind them pushed them forward down a short hallway and into the office at the end. Hector Morales sat behind a desk taking up much of the room. Two more of his men leaned against the wall, while another sat on a couch set along the opposite wall, beneath a window.

"Jake Burton. It's a pleasure to meet you in person." Hector said from his seat, a hint of an accent on his voice. He picked up a small revolver from the table and pointed it at them. Xander noticed that Faith stiffened slightly. Hector merely smiled. "You understand."

Xander raised his arms. Robin and Faith did the same a second behind. The large man behind them frisked them, pulling out their guns and laying them on the desk. Including their hideaway pieces and knives. Faith certainly didn't like it when he was extra thorough with her search. To her credit, she didn't make a move.

"Now that that's settled, let's get down to business." Hector said, putting down his gun. He motioned for Xander to take a seat at one of the two chairs that he had before his desk.

Xander sat down. Robin and Faith, playing the part of bodyguards remained standing behind him. They were learning fast. "You said you had someone in mind to fulfill my needs."

"That is correct, Mr. Burton." Hector nodded. "There is something that needs to be discussed first though. A matter of payment."

"And what's that?"

Hector clapped his hands once. His men pulled out there guns and pointed it at the rest, making extra sure that Faith was covered, and knew it.

Xander clenched his jaw. But, forced a smile onto his face. "What's the deal Hector? I already sent you half the finder's fee. That was the agreement. Don't be getting greedy now."

The middle-aged fixer reached over and picked up his weapon again. "The matter, as you say, is just how much I can get for you."

Hector leaned in closer. "Mr. Harris."


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

**Chapter 24: The Best There Is**

Covers blown, Xander thought. Get out now.

What? The thought came into Xander's mind. The exact thought that he didn't want there. Tell Monet to get your asses out of there. Do it now! Xander was practically screaming in his head. He kept it off his face though.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Xander said, leaning back. He carefully looked around. Despite their body armor, there was no way that Robin or Faith could make a move and not get shot and killed. Neither could he for that matter. "I mean, I used that name before, but you know how it is. Names are like women. They're only good for a couple of days before they get old."

Hector grinned. "Very amusing. But, you really do need to keep better track of your people. I suppose I should be flattered. The Council decides to send some of their best people to come see me."

"I don't suppose you're going to at least tell me who sold me out?" Xander smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. He had a feeling that he wasn't on the list of best people though.

Hector returned the favor. "No. Take them."

Xander felt the pain burst in the back of his head, then all went black.

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"Uh, Xander says that they've been blown." Kurt said, shaken. "He says that we should get out now."

Monet started the car without a word. She pulled out fast, making their getaway. After a block, she knew that nobody was following. A small stroke of luck. She made her way back to their motel. She didn't want to leave Xander behind. Nor the others. But, sometimes they all had to do the things they hated. Orders were orders.

"Did he say anything else?" Monet said, as she got out of her car. She pulled the guns that she had placed inside the car back in her bag, making sure nobody saw her do it. She slung it over her shoulder and walked to motel, going in through the front door. "Well?"

Kurt hurried to follow her. He was still playing catchup and still hadn't gotten over the deal getting blown so quickly. "Nothing. He didn't have anything else. I felt him go unconscious. Then the others."

Monet stopped and looked back at him. "Are they dead?"

Kurt met her eye contact. "I…I don't know."

Monet exhaled, and turned back around heading to the room. Up the stairs to the second floor. She used the short walk to gather herself. She'd never been in a command position, amongst Xander's team or the Council's. But, she was in one now.

Monet opened the door to their motel and walked to the beds, placing her bag on one and sitting on the other. Kurt walked in behind and closed the door. He took a seat at the table, forearms on his knees. His head hanging between his shoulders. "What do we do now?"

"Plan B." Monet pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number. "X's been blown. We need you to come in and work up an extraction."

"What was that?" Kurt looked at her quizzically. "Nobody from the Council came down with us."

"Of course not." Monet got up and walked to the table. She unfolded the map that still lay there from earlier. "Xander doesn't trust people he doesn't know. That's why he didn't fill everyone on the Council in on the whole plan."

"But, he told you." Kurt said. A statement more than a question.

She looked up. "He trusts me."

Monet walked to the window and picked up Xander's shoulder bag. She unzipped the front pocket and pulled out a small vial. "I'm going to need you to find them if they're moved."

"With what?" Kurt said, still looking down. "We need something of theirs in order to work a tracking spell."

Monet rolled her eyes, and walked to him. She placed the small vial onto the table. "Like I said. Xander didn't tell you everything. Now get your stuff together."

Kurt picked up the vial. It was filled with red fluid. "This is?"

"Xander's blood." Monet said. "Now get to work."

Kurt went to get his own bag. He had prepared a small magical kit in Cleveland. It was his standard go bag for field work. Candles, potions, and enough magical ingredients to come up with some pretty good invocations on the fly. It hadn't seen much use though. He walked to the closet and picked up his bag as he heard a knock at the door. He went to get it, but Monet rushed past him, opening the door.

A grim faced black man in his forties stood there. Monet let him in, as well as the two men with him.

"What do you have?" Scott Ryan, said as the door was closed.

"Xander went in with Faith and Robin." Monet walked them to the main part of the room. She ignored the puzzled look on the wizard's face. "He managed to tell us that his cover's been blown. Then he went dark. Do you have someone still there?"

"Yeah. Reacher's still covering the area." Scott said. "But, if there's an underground exit, then they could be moved without us knowing it."

"Okay. Kurt's our wizard. He'll be working a tracking spell that'll tell us if he's moved."

"The transmitter?"

"It won't go operational for another two hours." Monet knew that Xander had had a temporary GPS transmitter implanted for the mission. However, as a precaution once it was turned on, it would stay passive for four hours. To prevent detection. It would only activate after the time period was up. She thought it was kind of dumb now. Xander could overthink things sometimes. She knew that it was because he was scared. Scared of losing any of them. He could take too much responsibility sometimes. "I don't think we have the time."

"Uh, who are they?" Kurt asked, sitting back down in his spot at the table.

The men looked at him.

"Ryan." Said Scott. He pointed at the sandy haired man that had taken a seat on one of the beds. "Ellison."

Scott pointed at the man that had taken up a place on the other bed. "Browning."

He walked up to the table. "Now work your mojo, son. Morales didn't have many guys at that bar. If he's moving them, then they're just going to get harder to get to."

Kurt bent down and prepared the ingredients. He poured the blood into a mortar and added a few herbs. He ground it with a pestle until it had been worked into a fine paste. A match was dropped in and it made the mixture flare with a plume of purple smoke. It was a lot more theatrical than most magic, but it was still pretty effective.

Monet watched as he looked at the remains. It had turn into a fine, but still gritty, powder. Kurt poured it into one hand and blew it onto the map. A fine red cloud hovered over the map and slowly descended. Small particles coalescing into thin lines. A single blot of powder moving slowly on the map. Pinpointing Xander's location.

"I got 'em." Kurt exclaimed. "Come on. I got them."

Monet and Scott huddled over the small table. The former Delta moved back and got on his phone, placing a call to one of the men he had covering the area.

Monet slapped Kurt on the back. "Good job. Now get ready."

"I'm coming with you?" Kurt said, a bit surprised by the praise and the notion that he would be coming with them into a potentially violent situation.

"You found them, didn't you?" Monet grinned at him. "C'mon we need to plan this thing."

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Xander groaned. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He opened his eyes carefully, barely making out the bars to the cell he was in through the blur. He tried to get up, but fell back onto his back. His ribs ached. He had a pretty good idea that somebody had kicked him a couple times when he had been out. At least nothing was broken.

"Crap." Xander heard Faith say. "You look like hell."

Xander got to his feet, leaning against the stone wall of the cell. He coughed. "I'm surprised you could tell the difference."

He walked forward and looked at Faith in the cell opposite. She had manacles on. And was chained to the back wall through a thick metal link. Clearly, Morales had been prepared for slayers. Either he had anticipated him bringing a slayer early enough to get them, or he was used to dealing with the supernaturally empowered girls. Dealing with them and holding them.

"Where's Robin?" Xander stretched, trying to loosen up. He figured he'd been unconscious for a couple of hours. It was probably still daylight. He dropped the cover names. While the Council may not have protected the true identities of their own people, he had been especially careful. It was pointless now. He made a mental note to find the person that had ratted them out and feed him to a lawnmower.

"Right here." Robin's voice could be heard from the next cell over.

"You guys okay?" Xander said. He started looking around. It was dirty. An old and well-used mat was on the floor. The only furniture in his cell. He could see stains on it. Blood and other bodily fluids. He imagined what type of events went on in the cells. He wished he hadn't. He had to get them out of there. Faith especially. He grimaced at that thought. A bit patronizing, but he couldn't help it. He wondered when he started thinking that she needed protecting. And when he started to consider her as one of his.

He heard Robin's affirmative and saw Faith nod. Anybody there? Xander thought. There was nothing. Whatever had happened, Kurt wasn't in the area to listen in. At least the wizard had followed his instructions. He hoped.

"Faith." Xander called, he tried looking down the hall to the left, pushing as far out the bars as he could. Didn't feel too good. "Any ideas how to get out of here?"

She rattled her chains. She certainly didn't look amused. "Damn chains are too strong. This bastard was ready for us."

Xander started to try the other side, but stopped before he pushed too hard. It wasn't like he would be able to see anything with his glass eye. "You see why I'm so careful now?"

"Damn it, X!" Faith exclaimed. "Now's not the time for another of your lectures."

"Yeah. I know." Xander heard a door at the far end of the hall open. He pulled back and stood in the center of the cell, waiting for whoever was coming to see them. He wondered if it was to gloat. Too many comic books, he thought.

It was Morales. Sans bodyguards. An interesting development. "Well. Mr. Harris. I see you're awake."

"Yeah." Xander replied. "You here to question us?"

Hector shook his head. "Of course not. That would be messy. Besides, bruises bring down the price. I'd rather just sell you."

"So why come down here?"

"To see you." Hector replied. "You were playing your part very well. I must commend you on that."

"Yeah. Well, not exactly my best role. I play a mean Snake Plissken." Xander stared at him. "How about you tell me who was responsible?"

"Where would be the fun in that?"

"So what then?" Xander said, flippantly. He relaxed his arms. "Am I in time for the continental breakfast? I'm partial to donuts."

Hector smiled. "Always, the jokester. Or so I've been told."

"Big man now aren't you? No guys with you." Xander snorted. "And now you're here to gloat."

Hector smiled wider and took a step forward. "I do not need my men to face you, Mr. Harris. I am not some little vampire or demon that quakes in fear at hearing that the Watchers' Council has come for him. Do you think I'm scared of you?"

Xander quickly shuffled forward, his right arm extended through the bars. Morales skipped back, eyes wide.

"I think you are." Xander said. He kept his arm extended and bared his teeth. "Cause I'm real damn scary."

Hector moved forward, just out of reach of Xander's arm, recovering well. He let Xander's fingertips nearly touch his chest. He merely smiled and cocked his head to the side.

Xander jerked his hand up, a small thin bone shot out of the underside of his forearm, spotted with blood. The dirty white spike stuck itself into Hector's neck at an angle. "Get the point, bub?"

Hector only gurgled blood in response. Surprise apparent on the dying man's face.

Xander carefully tipped the man forward a bit, and then pulled the spike back, letting Hector fall to the ground in front of him. He pulled his arm back through the bars carefully and wiped the spike on his shirt. Making sure that it was clean before retracting it back into his arm. Couldn't be too careful these days. The exit point was still bleeding though. He carefully grabbed the dead man's shirt with his left hand and pulled him towards the bars. He went through Hector's pockets, finding the keys. Xander opened the door to the cell and bent down, ripping a strip from Hector's shirt and binding his forearm.

"What the hell was that?" Faith said, finding her ability to speak again after she saw Xander kill their captor.

Xander unlocked the door to her cell and walked in. He flipped through the keys, trying a couple until he found the one that unlocked the manacles. He walked back out after unlocking the bands and bent down to search the body while Faith rubbed her wrists. He found the revolver Hector had previously carried and checked it. Six shots. Better than nothing. Barely.

"Upgrade. Dr. Moreau had a special." Xander walked over and unlocked Robin's cell. "Now, c'mon. We gotta get outta here."

Xander walked carefully to the door that Hector had came in from. There wasn't a window in it so he couldn't tell what was outside. Pity. He looked back at Faith. "I don't suppose you can hear anything outside?"

Faith shook her head while Robin came up to him. "What's with the skewer?"

Xander looked at him. The watcher had a serious look on his face. He spoke softly. "Flesh mechanic in Indio. I helped him out once. He set me up with an improvement. Polgaran bone spike. No ejection port though. So I try not to pop it for everyone. You should consider yourself lucky."

Faith came up to them. "I don't hear anybody. Smells like we're in a junkyard or something. Metal and rust. Oil. I don't think anybody's that close."

"Okay. Stay inside till I tell you." Xander carefully opened the door and slipped outside in a crouch. He carefully covered the area, but couldn't see anybody. "C'mon, it's clear."

Robin and Faith followed him while Xander made his way forward. It was still daylight and the heat made things blurry. They were in a junkyard, and all around them were piles of old cars and parts. He carefully walked ahead, looking for a way out.

"He probably has a car stashed around here. Probably our best way out." Xander heard voices and crouched behind a partially dismantled sedan. The others bent down next to him. "Quiet."

They watched as a few of the men from the bar walked past. The thug in front was the same one that had led them to Morales. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was the one that had laid into him after he had went down earlier. "That blonde chica is so fine. Chicken head would look real good when she's on her knees."

The others laughed. The smallest of the four snorted. "Yeah right. She'd rip you in half, ese."

Xander waited until they past by the car. He wondered when that had become Mexican slang. Or maybe it had always been. Despite living in California, he hadn't been up on gangland linguistics. The thugs were likely on their way to the cells that held them. He waved his hand down to let Robin and Faith know to stay there and to keep their heads under cover. He let Morales' men get a bit further then slipped around the car, making sure that he was still behind cover himself.

He drew a bead on the largest of the men and fired, the bullet connecting with the head. His target fell, but Xander barely paid it any notice. He had already targeted his second and fired again. Another body fell, head shot. The only free ones. The others moved, the smart one going for cover. The stupid one crouched and went for his own gun. Xander fired quickly twice, taking the dumb one in the chest.

He ran quickly forward, diving to his right against another rusted hulk as he heard the return fire hit the ground he had just passed through. He was paying full price for this one. And only two shots left. Time for something stupid.

"Come on out." Xander shouted. "Don't make me come after you."

"Screw you." The man fired at him again. It was the smaller one that had snorted earlier.

Xander wished he had worked up some type of plan for Faith and Robin. Hadn't been time for that unfortunately. "Bitch. You're just making me angry. I don't think you want that."

He moved to the corner of the car and looked for a way out. He saw the dead bodies. And no cover between him and the remaining shooters. No real cover anyway. Time for something really stupid. He fired once, just to keep the other guy honest and ran forward, heading for the closest dead body. He fired again, dropping the gun and diving behind the bleeding corpse, pulling it up in front of him. Good thing the guy was so big, thought Xander. He pulled a gun from the dead man's waistband. Large caliber handgun.

He felt a tremor go through the body as bullets started to hit his cover. It wouldn't last for that long. Man, Xander thought. He was probably going to get shot again.

Xander got ready to return fire when he heard a three round burst of automatic gunfire. It sounded like an AK47. Not exactly standard gangland fare. He peeked over and saw the last thug, dead. Slumped against the pile of engine blocks he had ducked behind.

"Clear." Xander heard a voice call out. It was echoed by the same word spoken from other parts of the junkyard. He saw a man dressed in a black uniform walk up, masked. From the size, he guessed it was Scott.

Xander shouted. "Sapphire."

"Emerald." Came the response. It was the second half of their recognition code. So it was one of Scott's men at least.

Xander stood up, still carrying the gun. "Thanks for the rescue."

"No problem." The man pulled off his mask. It was Scott. Two others walked came closer to the group, pulling off their masks as well.

"Didn't look like you needed our help." It was Russ Ellison. Oscar Browning was behind him, cradling an AK74. The other two were carrying MP5's Xander noticed. Not the standard automatic weaponry of gangbangers, but they had started to show up on the streets, replacing the uiquitous Uzi and TEC-9.

"Robin, Faith. It's alright." Xander said. He started to search the man he had hidden behind. He found some cash and a set of keys, but nothing of any value. Still,he pocketed both.

"Who are they?" Robin walked to the gathered men.

Scott ignored the question. "Kurt and Monet led us to you. They're waiting with Reacher and Ramirez."

"Okay. Search the rest of the bodies." Xander said. "It seems like the rogue's still here. We may have a chance despite this, little setback. You got my gear?"

"Yeah."

Xander let the men get to work while he went over to Faith and Robin.

"Who are they?" Faith echoed Robin's earlier question.

"My backup team." Xander said. He looked around. He highly doubted there was anything in the area that would help them. He needed to get back to the city proper. "I hired some hitters to watch my back just in case."

"You didn't trust us?" Robin looked like he took some offense at that.

Xander shrugged. "Somebody squealed. You sure it wasn't on your side?"

Robin opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. There really wasn't anything he could say to defend himself. Or the Council. He had his own suspicions by this point.

"How do you know it wasn't one of yours?" Faith retorted, defending her boyfriend. "They're merecenaries right?"

Xander turned to look at her. "Cause they know what I'd do to them if they turned on me."

"Xander." The former Delta commander walked up to them. He had a small black bag with him. He opened it. "Looks like two kilos of black tar."

"That's pretty sloppy." Xander frowned. "Anything else?"

"No." Scott shook his head.

"What's that?" Faith looked into the bag at a few small shrink wrapped packages of black paste.

"Heroin." Xander explained. "Okay. Bag it, we're taking it with us. Torch the car, make it look like a drug rip."

Scott nodded.

Xander looked at his backup man, before he went to clean up the area. "We need to move on this now. The bad guys already know we're here, if Rosemary figures out we're not dead she may go to ground. We're already behind on this, so we need to hurry. The guys at the bar probably don't know that Hector's dead. We got a chance to check it before they scatter. No more screw ups. Let's get this done."

He walked away, leaving Scott to direct his men. Robin and Faith watched Xander walk back to the cells.

"What just happened?" Robin asked. From the strike team that had suddenly appeared, to the fact that Xander was apparently stealing drugs, he had gone back to confused. He thought he had gained a decent understanding of the man from their previous interactions, but this latest mission had turned up all sorts of unpleasant questions.

Scott turned to the watcher. "Looks like Jack's back."

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Author's Note: RudyHenkel: Yeah, I think Tara did get short shrift, but I was thinking of characters that survived the end of the series. And while it makes it more noble in ways for Xander not to get rewarded, Chosen was the end of the series at the time, with a bit of an epilogue in S5 of Angel, so I think he still should have gotten something. Otherwise it gets tedious to have some characters constantly dumped on. I haven't read the second issue yet, but I have read the first. I've incorporated some of it, like making Amy one of the villains, but I'm not going to be bound by it. Also, he does trust Faith more now, due to her apology and Vi has sorted him out a bit about it during their time together. One-Eyed Jack will come back soon, but he's trying to distance himself from it. It was something he was when he was in a bad place, and it isn't as necessary these days. But, it isn't without use. Thanks for the review.

In general, I didn't want to make it too easy for Xander to get out of his trouble, but he couldn't be incompetent. So in this case I wanted to show that while he could extricate himself out of part of the situation, he still needed a bit of help at the end. And, Xander won't have superpowers in this story, though that doesn't mean he doesn't have a few tricks up his sleeve.


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

**Chapter 25: To Be Continued**

Xander sat in the car, looking at himself in the pulldown mirror. He adjusted his eye patch. The glass eye hadn't felt right. He'd worn one a couple of times in the past. When he had needed to fit in. They never felt right.

He reached down and pulled his shoulder bag onto his legs. They had parked in a different location and were using one of Scott's vehicles now. More care taken to make sure that they weren't identified coming in. They couldn't let what had happened earlier happen again. From here on out, he couldn't use any of the setups he had prepared for the mission.

He unzipped the front pocket and pulled out a small gold ring and placed it on his left middle finger. He looked behind him. "Okay, we're going to be going in hard and fast. You back me up, and you don't question anything I do. Understand?"

Faith and Robin nodded from the middle row. Ellison and Browning were in the back, preparing their weapons. They didn't bother to turn around.

"I highly doubt that you do." Xander said. "You do exactly what I say, and you don't question me. You do and it could cost us all of our lives. Will. You. Do. What. I. Say?"

"Okay, Xander." Robin was a bit worried. Xander had been wary before. And he'd been right to be. Things were getting out of hand.

"Okay. Here's the game plan." Xander continued. He only hoped that things weren't going to get any more screwed up. "I'm going in first with Ellison and Browning backing me up. We secure the first room then go up and secure the office. Robin, you and Faith will be keeping an eye on any prisoners while we're clearing the second room. Just look tough, I want them conscious to interrogate after we're done. You don't come in until after we secure the room. Got it?"

"Yes," said Robin. Faith just nodded again.

"Okay. Let's get it done." Xander got off the car, followed by the others. He was wearing a long brown coat. It would stand out in the heat, but the semi automatic shotgun he was carrying would stand out even more. The men from his backup team were wearing coats as well. For the same reason.

Faith and Robin weren't. Though they had sidearms at the small of their backs, they weren't carrying larger weapons as the others were. It had taken some convincing to have them carry. Crossbows would be too unwieldy, and swords wouldn't be as useful if things got bad.

They walked to the bar, Xander in front. He wiped his forehead. The heat coupled with his coat, his shirt, and the bulletproof vest underneath was making him sweat. Probably the tension as well. He idly wondered if he had an ulcer brewing.

"Okay. We go back to the fake names." Xander said. And they didn't even get to use the ID's, he thought. A pity. They'd been made pretty damn well, and he had looked forward to flashing his. Faith and Robin nodded.

Xander exhaled and looked around. Making sure there weren't any witnesses, or bystanders for that matter. Ellison and Browning nodded at him. Go time.

He raised his shotgun as Ellison raised his. Browning pulled up an MP5. Xander clenched his jaw and twisted the doorknob, moving in fast.

"Hand on your heads!" Xander shouted as he came in, pointing his gun forward. There weren't that many people in the bar. Two men sat stunned at their table. A few more at the bar. The bartender looked scared. All Mexican. All heavily muscled. The local hangout for thugs and lowlifes. None were moving. That was a small mercy. "Now."

They slowly put their hands up and laid them on their heads, while the others moved in, covering the flanks. Xander tracked his shotgun over them. "Okay. Now slowly get up and come to the center of the room."

He watched as they did as he instructed. Another small mercy. "On your knees."

They did that as well. So far, so good.

Xander went up and patted them down, extracting their weapons and placing them on the bar. Some handguns and knives. Luckily nothing that suggested anything occult in nature. Just good old-fashioned human muscle. "Okay."

Xander walked to the door, making sure that the men were still covered. He nudged it open. "Alice, Leslie. It's clear."

The Council members that had been left outside under protest, came in, weapons drawn. They made a decent attempt at looking like they knew what they were doing. It wasn't like they hadn't done it before. Just not with guns, and not with humans.

"Okay." Xander said, after making sure that Robin and Faith were in control of the situation. He walked to the door of the back room, waiting for his backup to get into position.

After they had done so, Xander opened the door. It was clear. He moved in slowly and climbed the stairs, making sure he made as little noise as possible. Of course, it wasn't as if they weren't going to be expected, what with his previous yelling. But, this way anybody in the room upstairs wouldn't know exactly where they were. Or when they'd strike. He only hoped it'd be enough of an advantage.

He walked down the hall to the closed door at the end. Hector's office. The only room on the second floor. He got set, while he waited for the others to get into position. Considering that anybody inside had to be cautious already, they couldn't use the fiber optic camera; good chance of giving themselves away. Xander twisted the knob slowly. The door was unlocked. He brought his shotgun up, and pushed the door in quickly, moving in fast.

A pretty young woman looked up in surprise at him. She fired the gun that he just noticed in her hands. It hit hard and he grunted as he pulled the trigger on his shotgun. The load of buckshot hit her in the chest, sending her to the floor. Ellison and Browning came up behind him, but there wasn't anyone left to take down.

"You okay?" Browning asked as Ellison moved forward to check on the woman that Xander had shot.

Xander touched the hole in his coat. He pulled out the smashed slug that had stuck into his armor. He put it in his pocket. "I'm good. No penetration. Hurts like a mother though."

He looked at Browning. "Stay here and search the room. Russ, let's go back down."

He walked out the room. A little angry at himself. He should have fired first. He should have seen the gun and pulled the trigger before she could. It was a miracle she hadn't shot him in the head. Or used something with a little more kick than a .38.

"You hesitate?" Ellison said over his shoulder.

"No. She just fired first." Xander pulled out a slug from his shoulder bag and replaced the spent shell from his gun. He bent down to pick up his empty shell. He felt a twinge in his right arm. He had cleaned the puncture wound and wrapped it in gauze in the car, but it still ached. "Maybe it's the arm."

"Maybe." Ellison said. "She was a redhead. Fair skin. Green eyes."

"I know."

"Kinda looked like Vi."

"I know!" Xander turned around. "She just fired first. Okay? We done yet?"

Russ shrugged. "Just making sure you weren't getting soft, boss."

"I got it." Xander replied, a bit of heat still in his voice. He wondered if he had hesitated. He didn't think he had, but he had still gotten shot. He was just glad that the police were slow in this area of town.

They reached the bar again. Robin and Faith were still watching over the men they had apprehended. They looked slightly apprehensive. No doubt about the gunshots they had just heard.

Xander took a seat at a stool, placing his shotgun on the top of the bar. He didn't say a word. Only looked at the men on the their knees. They returned the look with quiet defiance. Gangsta pride. That was going to have to change if he was going to get anything out of them. After a minute he heard a call in his earpiece. It was Browning.

"I tossed the room. There's nothing here about the girl."

"Okay." Xander said quietly into his com. "Take anything you think'll be of use to the brothers in the alphabet. Then get down here."

"Yes, sir."

He stood up and pulled out a handgun from his hip holster. Xander walked over to the group of detainees and pulled up the man closest to him.

"You see this?" Xander showed him the back of his left hand. More specifically the ring on his middle finger. "Order of Teraka. Bitch."

He noticed that the man's eyes widened a bit. Xander sneered. "Yeah. You know what that means don't you. Alright, how about a question?"

Xander pointed his gun at the thug's head. The man still had a defiant look on his face. Despite a hint of apprehension. That just wouldn't do. He pulled out a picture from his coat pocket and showed it to him. "Where's Rosemary Hawthorne? The blonde killer your boss has on retainer?"

"Like I'm going to tell you, puta!" The large Mexican returned the sneer.

Xander smiled, teeth bared. "Okay. You have three seconds to tell me."

"One." Xander said. The man just stared at him.

"Two." The main raised his chin, still bold.

"Three." Xander fired his gun, and the man fell onto his back. Dead. Blood flowed from a hole in his face. A third eye. The other two were wide in surprise. The last thought that had gone through the man's head was probably about Xander not having the cojones to pull the trigger. Obviously wrong.

The other men on their knees gasped at the same time. It was kind of humorous in a gallows sort of way. Xander looked at Robin, making sure that the watcher wouldn't interfere. He could see that Robin wanted to interfere, but the hard stare made the head field watcher back down. He turned his gaze to Faith when he saw the black man relax. Or at least went back to what his state before he had just shot someone. The slayer looked odd. Disappointed maybe. Or just sad.

He pulled the next one onto his feet. It was the bartender. Xander showed him the picture as well. "You have two seconds to tell me where the girl is. One."

"Okay. Okay." The man said, he was clearly frightened. "I don't know where she is now. But…but, most nights she's down at Juan's, on the south side."

"Thank you." Xander said. "You know, you have surprisingly good English."

The man smiled hesitatingly at him.

Xander pushed the man back onto the floor. He walked over to the register and opened it. There wasn't much in there, but he pocketed the till anyway. He also took a small gold lighter that lay next to the register. Ah, petty theft and armed robbery. The work of heroes. He walked back around the bar and collected the handguns from the top and placed them in his shoulder bag. His shotgun, he picked up and held under his coat.

"Okay." Xander picked up his shotgun. "It's time to leave."

Robin and Faith moved to the door, placing their guns back into their places. They were a bit disgusted at holding the weapons.

"Browning." Xander said. He watched as the soldier stepped forward and fired his weapon. The remaining men fell, dead.

Browning looked at him. "Want us to clean up the shells?"

Xander shook his head. "Naw. Make it look like a robbery. Don't want to make it look too clean. That'd be suspicious."

"Let's go." Xander pushed his way between the two Council members on his way out the door. He looked to make sure that nobody was milling around outside. No gunmen waiting to take them down as soon as they exited. The gunfire had properly scared any civilians off. The locals knew better than to fool around if there were guns going off in Morales' place. The reputable or semi-reputable ones at least.

Xander walked outside, the others followed, putting their guns back under their coats before exiting. He walked to the car. Ellison and Browning took up the rear. Watching their backs to make sure they weren't ambushed.

Faith jogged to catch up to him. "Xander."

He kept walking until he had reached the vehicle. Monet looked at him through the glass window. She noticed the grim expression on his face and merely nodded. She was glad that Kurt hadn't come for this one.

"Xander." Faith said again, catching up to him.

He ignored her and opened the front passenger door. Faith pushed it closed.

"What?" Xander turned to the slayer. Angry.

"What was that?" Faith glared at him.

"My job." Xander glared back. "We done yet? We're here for a reason. Remember?"

Faith took him by the arm. Rather gently.

"What happened in Africa?" Faith got it. She had certainly gained some insight into people in the past year. Maybe having to deal with all of the issues that a bunch of teenage girls could have had helped her with it. Though, it was also the most logical choice for how he had changed so much. He had said that it had always been in him. That nothing had changed within him. Within his soul. She wasn't exactly sure about that. She could see it now though. It was there. That darkness. But, in Sunnydale, when he had been nothing but a snot-nosed high school kid she hadn't paid much attention to him.

But, he had balls. That night with the Sisterhood of Jhe, he had saved her ass. The one that had been left behind to be protected, had ended up saving her. And after she had turned bad, he had faced her. Alone. No weapons. No backup. It had almost gotten him killed, but he'd done it.

And when she had come back, years later, he had walked into that basement with a slayer, a vampire, and some girls that had moderate superhuman enhancements. And, he had walked out. Not everyone did.

More importantly, he had walked into that room with her. Despite the fact that she had turned on him before. And hadn't shown that she felt any regret about almost murdering him. Without an assurance that she'd watch his back. He could take the big risks. The hard decisions. Flight or fight pretty much meant fight to him.

Still, that dark part of him, a part she thought that maybe she shared, hadn't shown itself in so drastic a way in him before. He had always been there on the side. Helping out. Making sure that the girls felt good about themselves. The only time she had even seen him yelling in Cleveland, before he had left for Africa, had been with Willow and Buffy. Arguments about what they had done. Done to her sisters. Their guilt. His own. He deserved better. He had deserved better back then as well. From them and from her. So something had changed. Even if it was only to bring out what was there before.

Xander relented. He turned to look at her, his eye a little red. He sighed. "It was bad. Real bad. I'll tell you about it. After."

Faith nodded and let him go. To be continued, she thought.

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Author's Note: Hmm. I'm the only story under the Alexander H./Vi filter. Kind of amusing.

Bolo: The old Xander is still there. But, which part of the old Xander is being brought out now? That's the question. He's not going to just play the comic relief or the shoulder to lean on anymore. He's being forced to be more proactive now. And the old loyalty is still there at the top. Thanks for the review.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

**Chapter 26: Turks**

Author's Note: Let's see if exporting and then adding it as a new chapter works.

_Adrian69: _The filters are the drop down boxes to the right of the pages at the top of the story lists for different categories. Basically the Char and Char2 allow you to search by characters for some of the fiction categories.  
RudyHenkel: He'll tell Faith what happens in the next chapter or so.  
Thanks for the reviews.  
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"A wretched hive of scum and villainy." Xander turned around. They were in a new motel room. The other one could have been burned, so they'd made their way to the secondary site. A few of Scott's men had sanitized the old one and moved their equipment. A number of them were watching them on the outside. A precaution much more necessary now.

"Juan's going to be a tough job." He continued. "I'm going to need people that can blend in. That means me, Faith, and Monet."

"I should go to." Robin put in. He was the field watcher after all. And somebody had to be there to rein Xander in. He looked out the window. He saw a police car go by, no doubt on the way to the mess of dead bodies that Xander had left behind.

Xander smirked. There was a reason why he wasn't planning on having Scott and his men come along either. "Right. High school principal goes clubbing in one of the hotter dives in Tijuana. You'd blow our covers before we got ten feet. Faith may be as hot as Jessica Jones. But, you're no Luke Cage."

"What?" Faith asked, wondering if she should be insulted. Or flattered.

"You know, if you're going to run with me, you really got to start reading comics books." Xander said, looking at the amusingly conflicted slayer. He leaned against the wall. "My intricate knowledge of pop culture is really wasted on you isn't it?"

"So what's your plan then?" Robin walked over the to table and took a seat next to Kurt. He ignored the pointless musings of the now only loosely affiliated member of the Watchers' Council.

"I pose as a Terakan. Convince her to come with me for some business. Lure her out, and Faith and Monet take her once I get her far away enough from the crowd." Xander picked up one of his bags. "You can wait in the car, with Kurt."

"Uh, why am I going along?" Kurt asked. He had been taken along when Xander had been "rescued," but hadn't ended up doing much. He'd seen it go down and had learned quite a bit. Mainly, how unprepared he was for action.

"I need someone that can set up a tracking spell. Juan's is going to be packed, and I don't relish trying to find her in a crowd."

"I, I don't think can I do that." Kurt gulped. A bit embarrassed. "Without anything of hers, I'd have to be pretty close to get any kind of accurate reading."

Xander looked at him. Aside from being thin, Kurt also looked like a nerd. He knew he'd been a geek himself in the past, but with amount of work he'd had to do, and the eye patch, he actually looked fairly impressive now. Nick Fury-esque to some people's eyes. Though that usually went out the window when he opened in mouth. "How close?"

"The same room."

"Okay." Xander considered. Apparently, not all wizards could sense the presence of slayers that easily. That wasn't good news. He wondered if it was a power thing, or if Willow's mojo with the Slayer's Scythe had linked her to them. She was able to track them nearly by feel. "Monet. Get some clothes for him. Enough so he can blend in. As close as possible I guess. We're going to have to bring him with us."

"How'd you get the ring?" Robin asked. He'd seen what Xander had flashed in the bar. It looked real enough, though he had never seen one in person.

"You mean is it real?" Xander took off the gold ring and tossed it to the watcher.

Robin caught it and looked at it. It looked authentic enough, though he had never seen one in person. Till now, apparently. "Yes."

"Well, I could say that I took on a horde of Terakans in some great adventure in some country I can barely pronounce the name of. Somewhere, where I saved the life of some damsel with questionable integrity. The stuff of pop novels" Xander walked over and took the ring from Robin's hand, slipping it back onto his finger.

"So, how did you get it?"

"A few years ago, Spike hired some assassins to kill Buffy." Xander went back to his spot against the wall. "They failed. I managed to find the ring of one of them. It made a nice trinket back then. But, it has its uses now."

"And you think that you can convince her?" Kurt added. He hadn't been in the bar, so the wizard hadn't heard all of the details of Xander's actions during his information gathering mission. As tough as Xander could be, he would still look like a gringo in the wrong part of town. It was hard for Kurt to imagine Xander fitting in in some wild Mexican bar.

"I have cred." Xander said, more street slipping into his vernacular than he usually had. An affectation he'd found useful in some circumstances. "One-Eyed Jack's on all the party A-lists."

"So that is you, then?" Robin said. The Council had tried to find out more about the mysterious hunter after the link between him and Xander had come to light. They hadn't come up with anything. Not even if the hunter had one eye. It looked like he just might.

Xander shrugged. He walked over to the bureau and pulled out some clothes from his bag. Black shirt, black pants. A belt with a steel buckle. Low key club wear. But high quality. The popular places could tell. "Close enough."

"I want to know." Robin said, firmly. He was still a Watcher at heart, and Xander was riding a very fine line. He wondered if the one-eyed hunter would become someone that the Council would have to fight. The head field watcher didn't relish the thought. Because of Xander's past association with them as well as the man's new skills. It would also be a shame to waste them. Though, their current use was thoroughly disturbing. "Or else we don't go in."

Xander looked at him. "Why? The leak's on your side."

"Xander." Faith said. She stood up from her seat on one of the beds.

"Okay." Xander gave in. "The situation came up where it was better for some of my actions to be attributed to someone other than myself. Someone other than an employee of the Watchers' Council. Though, by that point it was a loose association. Like Batman and the Justice League."

Robin and Faith just stared at him.

"Okay. I'll stop that now."

Xander started rooting through his bag for the other tools he would need.

"A kid suggested it, and it fit, for obvious reasons." Xander looked up and pointed at his eye patch. "I also made sure that when the stories were passed around, that they were, appropriately embellished."

"You mean they're lies." Robin said.

"I mean that the truth is never as easy as people think." Xander pulled out a pair of shoes. Slightly cleaner boots than the pair he had on now. He also pulled out a small black bag. It carried a small pistol and some other weapons, as well as things could be considered weapons. "I bet you heard about the one where I took on thirty snake demons by myself?"

Robin looked at Faith. "It's come up."

"Yeah. Well, it's a bit easier to take on so many when you kill most of them with a claymore before they even see you." Xander gathered the things he had laid out and walked to the bathroom. "Uh, that's the anti-personnel mine, not the sword."

He stepped in and closed the door. His voice came out from behind, slightly muffled. "Monet, Faith get some clothes and get dressed. Clubbing wear. Make sure that Kurt is dressed better as well. Be back in twenty minutes."

Xander stripped down and took a shower. The hot water beating down on his sore muscles felt good. He felt some of the tension in him die down. Things hadn't gone well, but at least they were all still alive. He considered making a call to Barnes. To see if the CIA man had come up with anything on the leak in the Council. Chances are it was the same one that had led him to getting captured by Morales. Which meant Andrew.

But, it was a bad idea. The phone call could be picked up. Probably not easily since he had his secure line, but he couldn't be too cautious. There were other ways to pick up telecommunications that weren't technological in nature. Going dark wasn't his favorite state of being. He felt metaphorically naked as well as literally.

After a few minutes, he turned off the water and got out. He toweled off, looking at himself in the mirror. Xander touched the red mark on his upper chest. It was still a bit sore. The skin around his ribs was red as well. Could have been worse though. He opened the small kit bag he had left in the bathroom and extracted some first aid supplies. He bound the wound on his arm again, noting that it still looked clean and had stopped bleeding. A small mercy. He'd picked up the enhancement a while ago. Only used it three times so far. It was never fun. James Howlett had it easy.

Xander got dressed. Tight underwear, with a built in pocket. He pulled out a Kel-Tec P-32 and placed it into the pocket. Made sure nothing would chafe. Crotch gun. Most bars used male bouncers in his experience. And in such a testosterone-laden position, they tended not to search any guy too closely in the groin area. Xander put on the rest of his clothes, slipping a small silver pen in his pocket. Some gel brushed into his hair completed the look. He didn't look half bad. Hell, if he had been single he might have even been able to pick up some young thing for the night. If he hadn't been there on a job as well. Big step up from his earlier days of looking awkward in a club. He could actually somewhat dance now as well. He'd even managed not to embarrass Vi during the couple of times they'd went out dancing.

He moved closer to the mirror. And looked himself in the eye. "The cards you've been dealt."

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They heard the music before they'd even gotten close. Juan's was a fairly rundown warehouse. Converted inside, but it still looked pretty bad. That didn't stop it from being packed, with people already spilling outside. Set in the warehouse district, nobody really cared how rowdy it got. The policia had more important things to deal with than the occasional drunken disorderly or possession charge.

Xander scoped the area. American music. And what looked like a good deal of American clientele going by. Which was good since it meant that he and Faith would fit in. Racially at least. His eye patch and her hotness would make them stand out. Hopefully, in a good way in his case. Monet would be able to blend in much better as a local. In the dark at least. Good enough to fake it in any case until she spoke. Though she'd attract her own set of male attention too. And Kurt, well hopefully a little "notice me not" spell would work well enough to distract anybody from how much he still looked like a nerd, even with the new clothes.

He got out of the SUV. Faith and Monet did as well. They'd parked a decent way away, next to one of the seedier looking neighboring warehouses. Only broken lights on this one. Kurt looked at them, and took a deep breath. He got out too. Robin wasn't looking too happy. "I still think I should go with you."

Xander looked at him. And smiled. Ever the happy partying American. "I know. If I was in your place, I'd be pretty angry too. But, this is how things work. I'll lead her out, remember to stay out of view until I call you in."

"Jake. I got something." Kurt said. He felt a presence, his tracking spell was working fairly well. Set up in the car, it was linked to his mind and would alert him even from inside the club. At that point it wasn't a pinpoint location, but at least it wasn't a false lead.

Xander nodded at the wizard. He turned back to the watcher. "C'mon, you know Alice isn't going to let me get into any trouble."

Robin reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Let's just finish this and get her home."

Xander clenched his jaw at that remark. "Right. Let's go."

He walked forward and around the warehouse they had parked next to. Straight towards the front door. Monet was next to him, with Faith and Kurt walking behind. At the door was a large Mexican man. More fat than muscle. A small goatee gave his face some character. Not too threatening. Local flavor. But, he carried himself well enough. He stepped in front of them. "Arms up."

Monet broke off, and Xander raised his arms. He was quickly frisked. About what one could expect at a club. He felt the bouncer reach his pants pocket. The cell phone was pulled out and checked. There was still the other thing however.

"What's this?" Marco, the bouncer had felt the thin metal cylinder in the smiling American's pants. The eye patch didn't faze him. He'd seen stranger things.

Xander carefully reached into his pocket and pulled out the pen. He smiled. And clicked the pen. "C'mon. It's just a pen. You know, I got a really bad memory."

"Fine. Get inside."

Xander stepped in. He stayed near the entrance for the others to be cleared. While Marco spent an extra few seconds sizing Kurt up, they were all eventually let in. Xander led the group further into the building. The music got louder. He could feel the beat in his chest.

He put the pen back in his pocket, clicking it again. Xander twisted the bottom half a quarter turn before letting it go. The crowd inside got thicker the further in they went. Definitely not the best place to try to take someone.

Xander led them to one of the walls, into one of the few empty spots. He smiled inside when he saw Faith blow off some guy as she tried to catch up to them. It was done in her usual, polite manner. "Kurt, you got something for me?"

"She's near the bar. By the bartender I think." Kurt, no alias, said. He was slightly insulted by that. Then again, it was doubtful anybody actually knew who he was or that he was with the Council. Or would even care if told. He was an experienced wizard. But, mostly theory, so he didn't get out much. "That's all I got."

Xander looked over at the packed bar. It was across the warehouse. The equally packed dance floor filled with throngs of writhing people was between them. "Great. Keep track of me. If I link up with her, get out and back to the car. Make sure you aren't noticed."

Xander touched the ring on his left hand, making sure that it was facing the right direction. "Alice, Nicole, cover me. Make sure that nobody's watching, but keep your distance. This one's good. This needs to go down smooth. I don't want a bunch of people getting killed if she rabbits."

The girls nodded. Pleasant expressions on their faces. Though their eyes said different. Xander made his way forward, squeezing between dancers as he made his way forward. He checked out the bar. Way too many blondes. Probably not all of them natural, he thought. A weird tangent.

He made his down the bar from the top of it. Looking for his target. He didn't have far to go until he saw her. Lucky night.

She was very striking in person. And looked like none of the cold hard killer that she really was. Xander noticed a few freckles dotted her nose. They hadn't come out in the less than stellar quality of the photos he had of her. She was nursing a drink and looked a bit bored. Some guy was hitting on her, rather unsuccessfully. An opening if there ever was one.

"Can I get a beer? Corona." Xander squeezed in between them, speaking to the bartender. The thin Mexican behind the high bar ignored him. He hadn't spoken too loudly, but the man should have heard him. Oddly, enough the sound was muted near the bar. Either a quirk of the architecture, or some type of sound dampening spell. "C'mon, I was a barback. How about some love for a brother in arms?"

The bartender put down a beer in front of him without a word. Xander passed him some money. No tip though. Though to be fair, he probably wouldn't have responded very well if someone had ordered a Corona from him in a Mexican bar.

"Hey, man. I was standing there." The man he had pushed to his side pushed up against him. Tall and tanned. Looked like a surfer. Fairly well muscled, though more built for speed than for brute strength. And not at all intimidated by the eye patch. No respect for the disabled these days.

"Yes. You were standing there." Xander smirked. And took a swig of his beer. Then set it back down. He noticed Rosemary appraising him. Time for a show. Alpha males going out at it. "And now you're not. Bye bye."

Xander turned his back. Ready for it. The surfer made a grab for his shoulder. The left one, predictably enough. Xander moved faster, bringing up his left arm to block the angry young wannabe lothario. He twisted around, committing to the move. Xander quickly jabbed the tips of his right hand fingers into his opponent's throat.

Before the surfer could gag, Xander grabbed him, driving the stunned man right into his right knee. The man went down. The whole fight took less than five seconds. With the bartender elsewhere, and most people around looking at the dance floor, nobody noticed the fight. Expect for the slayers. All three of them.

He looked over his shoulder at her. And raised an eyebrow. "Must be drunk I guess."

She smiled back at him. Rather impressed. She watched the man that had been hitting on her crawl away. She turned her attention to the man now hitting on her. "Must have been."

"Ah, a native of my fair California." Xander smiled. "LA native?"

Rosemary nodded. "You too?"

"Close." Xander let her get a good look at the eye patch. "Sunnydale. You know, before the bomb."

She took him in. And smiled wider, licking her lips. A lurch would have been caused in the stomach of nearly any man. "Good for me."

"I'm Jack." Xander said. Inwardly, he winced. Aside from sounding really corny he felt a bit awkward; like he was betraying Vi. Not that anything would actually happen. He wasn't going to sleep with another mass murderer again. Not after Anya.

"Rose." The blonde slayer said. The man definitely had moves. She was a bit wary though. Not every day an obvious fighter came up to her. And tried to hit on her.

Xander picked up his beer with his left hand and held it to her. She picked up her own drink and knocked it against his. He smiled as she took a drink. He just held his in front of his chest, unmoving.

She looked quizzically at him. Then looked down at his drink, more specifically the ring on his finger. Her smiled dropped.

"You are a very beautiful woman, Rosemary Hawthorne." Xander took another sip of his beer. Or at least he looked like he did. "And very talented."

"You represent…" Rosemary trailed off, all business now. Her stance stiffened. Ready to attack and/or run.

"Yes." Xander said. "Most people believe that we only take someone on after one hundred jobs."

Rosemary nodded. Wondering exactly where things were going.

"That's not exactly true." Xander went on. "I've been following your career. It's very impressive. Sutton was a fairly well accomplished task."

He saw that she was fighting to control a blush. Oh man, he thought. Total sociopath.

"Sloppy as hell." He went on, keeping his inner disgust from reaching his exterior. "But, that's why I'm here."

She glared at him. "What, you're here to teach me?"

Xander shrugged. "Probably could. I was thinking partners actually. Junior in your case. That's the usual way it works. I mentor you, and I get a cut of your takes."

The slayer took a step closer and played with one of his shirt buttons with a thin finger. She threw him a one-sided smile. Positively seductive. "I just bet you could teach me all sorts of things."

He returned the smile. "Right. You'd probably bite it off. But, that just makes it hotter, don't it?"

"And how do I know you're who you say you are?" Rosemary challenged him. He looked real enough. And the Terakans could bring her career to a whole new level. She had had a thing going with the late Hector Morales. He had been a good fixer. But, with him gone she didn't have a steady line of work. Burnt in some drug theft. A pity. The only other thing she had left was her sometime consistent string of jobs for the Brotherhood of Akkad. One of them had even approached her when word of Morales' death had gotten out. She had considered it and had given them a noncommittal response. Though the Order was definitely a step up from them and her usual jobs.

And he probably wasn't half bad in bed, she thought. "I'd hate to have to kill you."

"Three months ago. Dr. Nat Essex in Huntingdonshire, England was killed with a single gunshot wound through his left eye. His home was invaded and one book was taken. A copy of Gray's Anatomy." Xander recited from memory.

"That was in all the newspapers."

"What the newspapers didn't report was that the police found a playing card on top of the wound." Xander smirked again. "Three guesses which card."

"Shit." Rose paled. A bit hard to make out in the dark, with the lasers going off every few seconds in the background, but he could tell. "That was you?"

"It's on my jacket." Xander said. He didn't say too much. Professionals didn't brag. The hit had been carefully prepared. Both for the actual job as well as to lay down clues were he ever in need of proving his reputation. Clues that he knew had circulated in the right circles. "That real enough for you?"

She nodded.

"So, how many do you have?"

Xander looked at her. She was still a bit suspicious. Though it was mixed with interest in himself and wondering about what he could do for her. "Hundred and sixteen. Professional. Started doing merc work since I was 15."

"From Sunnydale."

"There's always a lot of work around a Hellmouth."

Xander looked around. Noticed that Monet and Faith were still around. They were currently fending off the advances of a number of young males. Unsurprising given their looks and the tight tops they were wearing.

"You know, this probably isn't the best place to talk about this. You want to go outside?"

The blonde slayer smiled. "How do I know that you aren't going to try anything?"

"Somehow, I get the feeling you can take care of yourself." Xander held his hand forward, pointed towards the dance floor, inviting her out. She took the invitation and moved towards the dance floor, hips swaying a bit extra. He followed close behind.

Xander waited for his moment. The throng pressed in as a particular fast song started to play. He didn't recognize it, proof that he was definitely not a kid anymore. Then again, he'd never been one with an ear for pop music. He reached into his left pocket and pulled out the pen. He clicked it, a thin bore needle sliding out of the tip. As the throng pressed in particular close he jabbed, right into the back of her arm. He tossed the pen after that, pushing against her.

She turned around and gripped her arm. "What was that?"

Xander pushed the guy to the left of him to the ground. And glared at the fallen dancer. "Watch yourself asshole."

He looked back to the slayer. "What?"

"Never mind." Rose turned back around and reached the end of the dance floor, walking towards the entrance. Not feeling any different. The man Jack had pushed probably just poked her with a watch or ring or something. Xander followed, watching out of the corner of his eye as Monet reached down and picked up the pen he had dropped.

They reached the outside. Xander breathed in, fresher air at least. Though there were still young people milling around outside. "So, where to?"

She threw him a wicked look, a gleam in her eye. "My car is near here. And the hotel I'm at isn't that far away. C'mon."

She walked him down the street, away from the crowd. They kept walking until they were fairly alone. Though Xander knew that he was still being tracked by his own people.

"Hmm." Xander said, after a few minutes of walking. "We almost there yet?"

"Can't wait, loverboy?" She turned around.

"With an ass that fine?" Xander quickly scoped the area around them. He noticed an SUV coming up slowly. A familiar SUV. Totally against the plan. Time to improvise. He ducked between two warehouses. "How about I just give you a peek first?"

She smiled. An encouragement. Which really weirded Xander out.

He took a step back, deeper into the small alley, and reached into his pants. Xander returned the smile. He quickly whipped up his small pistol and aimed it at her. Still smiling.

"What the hell?" Rose started to say. She quickly tried to kick the gun out of his hand. If it had been anyone else, it would have meant death to try a move like that. But, for a slayer…

Xander stepped back and let her foot slide past. More than enough time to do so. He shoved the metal gun into her forehead, knocking her to the ground. The Cruciamentum had ended up having one benefit at least. Better kidnapping through chemistry.

"Quiet down." Xander said, still covering her with the gun. He would have liked to just shoot her in the head and take the body with them, but if Robin had broken protocol and come after him, they may need the hostage. "You've been juiced with enough drugs to keep an elephant down."

He saw Faith and Monet catch up to him out of the corner of his eye. "Get the cuffs."

Monet ran to the car and pulled out a bag from the back. She opened it and pulled out a pair of reinforced manacles.

Xander took a step back and pointed the gun at Rosemary's head as Monet carefully approached her, cuffing the rogue slayer's arms behind her back. Rose really didn't look happy.

"Get her in the car." Xander said to Faith. He watched as the two Council slayers manhandled the rogue into the back of the SUV, making sure she couldn't get to anything that could be used as a weapon.

Xander placed the crotch gun back in its place, making sure that it wouldn't go off by accident. No manual safety after all.

He walked to the front, seeing Robin in the driver's seat. "Is there some reason you wanted to get me killed? Or was it just for kicks?"

"I wanted to keep you in sight. You were walking away." Robin defended himself. "I saw somebody following you. Then race for a car."

He hadn't known what to do when Xander walked out with the slayer. He didn't want to leave Xander unprotected, with their slayers a ways behind, and an unknown tail on top, so he had followed.

Xander looked around. Still nobody in sight. He probably could have handled the tail on his own. Likely it was just someone watching over the rogue. Recruiters. Wouldn't have interfered as long as he didn't make a move against her. But, he was touched by Robin's caring enough to go after him. "Forget it. Good job getting here fast though. We should move now."

Xander walked around to the other side of the car, getting into the front passenger seat. The others got in as well. Kurt was already inside.

"You think you can just take me?" Rose yelled in the back. "I wasn't alone. The Akkad will smoke your ass."

Xander noticed two cars coming up after them. Not trying to hide themselves. Not moving very quickly. A slim possibility that it was innocent. Some unlucky drivers lost amongst the very same looking warehouses. If they weren't innocent it would change once they got close and knew that their target was gone.

Damn, he thought. This was why he didn't want to do things in public. And Akkadians, though not Order grade, had their own set of heavy hitters. Looks like the Terakans weren't the only ones scouting new talent. And him without his vest.

"Robin switch places with Monet. And somebody tape her mouth." Xander got in the car as the two switched, Monet getting behind the wheel. The car was gaining on them.

"Let's go." Xander said as everyone had gotten back in the car. He pulled out the bag he had stowed under the seat as well as the vest.

Monet pulled the car back onto the street, powerful engine revving. The cars behind sped up behind them. Definitely not civilians.

Xander struggled to put the vest on as Monet weaved the SUV around the streets, keeping themselves from being an easy target. She followed one of the exfiltration routes she had mapped out before they had left.

Warehouses shot by as Xander readied his weapons and other equipment. Gloves. Attached a strap and hooked on grenades. A comlink went into his ear. It would have been nice in the bar, but there would have been the chance that it would have been noticed. Even a small earwig model might not have been missed by a slayer, even in the dark. It was hard work getting everything into place considering how they were taking corners, but he had done it before.

Before long they reached a straightaway nearly a half a mile away from the bar. It had taken a while, considering the meandering path that they had taken; an attempt to buy time to prepare. The road led to a dead-end. One of their chosen spots.

Monet skidded the car into a stop, driver's side toward the cars that were now coming to a stop beside them. She unbuckled her belt and pulled out her own gear, putting on a vest.

Xander picked up the HK69 loaded with a high explosive shell, as well as an MP5. He looked into the backseat. "Keep your heads down. The car's armored, so you should be safe."

He got out and heard bullets plink off of the SUV. He ducked down and made his way around the car, towards the rear. Xander fired a couple of shots with his submachine gun, cracking the front windshield of the lead car.

Xander readied the grenade launcher and took aim. The gunmen had stayed inside, thinking they'd be safer from return fire.

They thought wrong.

Xander pulled the trigger, the rocket propelled grenade impacted against the cracked windshield, shattering the remaining glass and detonating inside. The resultant explosion killed the five men in the car. Five in one. Though the odds were still against them. At least Monet would be ready by now. Xander dropped the empty launcher, bringing the submachine gun into play.

"Covering fire." Xander said, as he started to fire off rounds towards the men that had gotten out of the secondary car. They'd been smart enough to scatter, and hid behind the minimal cover available. Mostly just rusted car bodies and dumpsters. But, cover enough to make them hard to kill. An unfortunate and rather unexpected circumstance. Something that Xander hadn't had time to scope out before given how suspicious it would have been if they'd shown up during the day. But, one made due with the hand that was dealt.

Monet slipped out of the passenger's side door, twisting to get over the central compartment, when she heard Xander's call. She brought up her own M4 and made her way to the front of the car. She broke into a run, pumping her legs as fast as she could to flank them from the side. Her slayer speed made her nearly a blur, and effectively unhittable. When she got to the side of the street, she ducked behind the wall of one of the warehouses, bullets ricocheting off the side of the building. She crouched and turned, waiting for her shot.

Xander finished the magazine as Monet reached her new position. She started firing her weapon. Xander dropped the mag, and inserted another in a smooth motion. He let the gun hang on its strap as he pulled a grenade off his belt. A swift jerk primed the explosive.

Xander brought the gun up again in one hand.

"Frag." He called into his com. He didn't need to say it very loudly. Monet had exceptional hearing. As would be expected. She would be able to hear it through her link, even amongst her gunfire.

Xander threw the grenade between the nearest of the two men that were firing at him. The darkness and loss of night vision from muzzle flashes meant that the likely Akkadians didn't see the grenade.

Three seconds later and the explosion went off. Penetrating the two men with fragments, killing them. A third was injured with shrapnel and dropped his weapon.

"Two down on my side." Monet said into her own com. She'd managed to dispatch them with single shots. Though mostly behind cover, the assassins had moved to get into position to return fire. That caused them to show enough of their heads for the slayer to take them. Slayer sight in action.

He'd had much more practice with firearms. But, she was still a better shot. Slayer reflexes. Slayer strength. Slayer vision. Slayer everything. He could do the job. And do it well, but sometimes it just sucked being the normal one.

Xander brought the MP5 up, and made his way around the car. Carefully. He didn't have slayer agility after all. "I'm checking the area."

He crouched down low, and made his way forward, moving from cover to cover. All the while making sure that nobody was moving in front of him. He saw the body parts of the two men he had killed with the grenade.

He saw the remaining assailant trying to reach his weapon. Xander quickly moved forward and kicked the weapon away. There was nobody else left alive. "Clear. I've got a live one here."

Monet came forward from her flank position, joining Xander. "Clear on my side."

"Well well well. What do we have here?" Xander said. The injured man wasn't a human. He didn't recognize the species, but from the dim lights that were on the warehouses around them, he could make out a blue face and deeply lined skin. He noticed a tribal tattoo around a bare bicep. The cut t-shirt the demon was wearing didn't hide much.

"Screw you." The demon growled. He made a fist, organic metal coils wrapping around his fingers. The demon tried to strike but the girl brought her weapon down quickly on his right elbow. He screamed in pain, the joint shattered.

Xander leaned down, showing the demon his ring. "The slayers belong to us, Akkadian. All of them. And, as I'm sure you can see, I'm willing to kill them to keep them from you. Like the man says, if we can't have them, then nobody can."

The demon tried to spit at him, but fell far short. Weak resistance.

Xander smiled. It wasn't a pleasant one. He extended the stock on his weapon, locking it into place. "Tell your betters not to mess with us. Or the Order's going to have to swing by. You don't want that."

"And just so you don't forget." Xander smashed the butt of his gun down on the demon's wrist, breaking it and causing the biological knuckle dusters to retract. He did the same to the other wrist. Then started to work on the demon's other major joints. Other wrist, the remaining elbow. Shoulders, knees, ankles. Hands saved for last.

The demon was moaning in pain at that point. Unable to do anything but whimper. Xander pulled out a small piece of stiff paper from his pocket and dropped it in front of the demon. He walked to the relatively untouched car that the demon had ridden to the spot where the assault had happened. The one not blown up by a grenade. Monet covered the demon.

Xander pulled another grenade from his belt and pulled the pin. He tossed the small cylindrical device into the car. He started walking away back to his SUV, Monet taking up his side, still keeping watch, professionally but needlessly.

A few seconds later the car exploded into fire. The incendiary device burning it away from the inside.

The fire cast enough light to allow the blue skinned demon to see that the dropped paper was a playing card. The jack of spades. The one with the figure in profile.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Chapter 27: Breaking Faith**

After cleaning up their weapons, Xander and Monet got back in the car. They made sure that Rosemary was fully secured, then made their getaway. A leisurely pace since nobody was after them. Xander watched as the two still burning cars were left to join the rusted ones that had been abandoned years earlier. All that was left was one crippled demon, just barely alive, to tell the tale.

"What was that about?" Faith asked. She'd watched the whole thing go down. From Xander leading the attack, to Monet's use of slayer abilities in a more modern capacity. It seemed like slayers _could_ use modern weaponry, and use it well. Something that Giles and Andrew had put their collective foot down against. She wondered why. "What did you drop?"

"Death card." Xander looked behind him, barely making out her face in the dark. "So the Akkadians know who was responsible."

"Jack of hearts?" Faith smirked. It was incredibly theatrical, and seemed like something the still comic obsessed geek would use.

Xander smiled a bit. A bit of levity could be a godsend after a battle. While he had some inkling of its use in Vietnam, the death card had never taken on the psychological importance that popular culture had attributed to it. In truth, he'd gotten the idea from Apocalypse Now. "Jack of spades actually."

"And what was the purpose of that?" Robin asked. He'd watched the fight as well. A well executed attack, with none of the usual flaws that seemed to pop up when slayers went into battle. Slayers got the job done alright, but in his experience, they could take unnecessary risks.

Monet and Xander had worked well together. Xander covering the slayer when she made her move. Utilizing her heightened speed, she had been able to get into place to cover the left side without Xander having to burn through the magazine partway through the slayer's run. And then Xander had stayed behind cover, never exposing himself to more return fire than was necessary. His choice of weapons had been picked to maximize the damage he could inflict in the maximum number of scenarios. Grenades to take out massed enemies, as well as a submachine gun for a rapid response. He'd also noticed the handgun Xander had brought with him in case there was need for a secondary weapon or for close in work.

No quips. No unnecessary one on one battles to demonstrate superiority. Xander had allowed Monet the more difficult of the kills. The ones that had taken better concealed positions. No attempt to hog the glory. There was no desire to show up anybody. No attempts to show off to other slayers or watchers. None of the jealousy that some of the slayers could exhibit towards each other when it came to their abilities. Utterly professional. Nine men killed. No fuss. One left. Kind of.

The maiming of the survivor seemed uncalled for. A deliberate attempt to inflict the maximum of pain. It seemed so un-Xander like. Even now, given their past interactions it seemed a marked difference. Executing the guilty was one thing, pain for pain's sake was another.

Xander looked towards the watcher. "Way I figure it, the Brotherhood of Akkad and the Order of Teraka aren't the nicest of folks. The Order's star has faded a bit in recent years, but they're still considered the best. Some assassins are attempting to contest that. And did I just use contest as a verb?"

"Meaning?" Robin ignored the joke.

Xander took out a wetnap from the glove compartment and opened the sealed packet. He wiped his face and neck. Washing off the grime and sweat that had collected on him. It didn't help that much. "Meaning that a war between the Akkad and the Terakans will end up with a lot of dead assassins. A nice side benefit."

"Why did you decide to break all of his limbs?" Robin had felt disgusted at that. While the other men that had died had been self defense, the demon had been helpless. At their mercy, and Xander had hurt him. Badly.

Xander frowned. Evidently, despite getting kidnapped and seeing the repercussions of the work they were doing, the man still didn't get it. "I needed to send a message. A disappeared rogue slayer is going to bring up a lot of questions that could eventually lead to us. You have a leak you know. And I don't want it coming back to our doorstep. So, false flag op. You know, a way to get them to follow the wrong trail. So it looks like we were here, but so was someone else. And that someone else was the one that did the final takedown, while we just left without anything."

"And the beating?" Faith asked. She'd seen what Xander had done too. More clearly than the watcher given her enhanced vision and all. A small part of her had gained satisfaction at what she saw. It had called to her. A larger part was scared by that, not that she'd admit it to herself.

"I needed a witness." Xander replied. "One of them seeing for themselves that it was the Terakans who made the grab."

"And?" Faith went on. She still didn't see a reason for it, besides a sense of sadism. Hardly someone she wanted around her slayers, Vi in particular.

"And, I didn't see the reason to put innocent people in danger because of our need for a witness."

"What?"

"He's an assassin." Xander explained. He'd made the mistake in high school. He'd let the vampire Willow go. Any deaths that the alternate Willow had caused after that were partly on his head. Sometimes, it just hurt seeing everything so clearly now. "He would have just kept on killing if I'd just let him go. This way, he ain't ever going to be doing that again."

"And that makes it okay?" Robin questioned. The ends didn't justify the means. Or at least the shouldn't. Not to the Council. Not to heroes.

Xander glared at him. "No. It doesn't make it okay. It makes it a deliberate action in order to facilitate a desired outcome. In the official terms. In terms you can understand, it means that I'd rather protect the innocent than worry about whether I was still considered a hero. I didn't get off on it if that was what you were worrying about."

"Should I be worried that you will?"

"I'm not planning on growing a moustache to twirl. It's highly doubtful that I'll go evil." Xander glared at the watcher. "I'm not Andrew you know."

"Highly doubtful?" Faith said. She noted the snipe at Andrew. There was some history there. While the now more research-involved watcher was not considered very highly amongst many of the slayers, he still had some pull in the Council. "So what, you don't think you're going to go evil?"

"The way things go at times, it can go all slippery for any of us." Xander shrugged. He looked Faith in the eyes, streetlights reflecting off of them. A look of understanding. "But, if I do go, I just hope someone's there to stop me. And that they go far enough."

Faith looked at him. A bit shocked. The guns were one thing. The workable plans on short notice. And the ability to see into everything, devising strategies and working out the potential outcomes and consequences. Those were something else. Xander had certainly matured. Even to the point of working out why his own death might be necessary.

"You'd want us to kill you?" Faith had an incredulous look on her face.

"No." Xander said bluntly. "But, what anybody wants is rarely the point."

"You still owe me that story."

"I know." Xander turned back around. Towards the front.

"So what do we do now?" Robin asked, trying to get back to their objective. He looked behind him, towards Faith in the back, with the rogue slayer who was still bound. She'd relaxed a bit, her mouth was taped and her ankles had been chained as well. Surrendered, for the moment anyway. Xander had told Faith to do it while he had been cleaning up with Monet. He was not taking any risks here. Every conceivable precaution had been taken.

"We pack up our stuff." Xander replied. Shaking off the grim words he had just uttered. "Then we bring ourselves and the package back across the border."

Monet steered her way back onto the main road from the side roads they'd been traveling on. Away from the warehouses and back to the city proper. No sirens heard yet. Nobody had heard or seen the carnage that Xander had left behind.

She kept a sedate rate of speed. Making sure that they wouldn't be pulled over for any reason. There were dents caused by bullets pinging of the car, and some of the windows were cracked. They wouldn't draw much police attention as long as they didn't act as if out of place. The rest of the drive was made in near silence. Only a couple of remarks to get the others up to speed on the exfiltration part of the plan.

Monet pulled up to their motel, pulling into the parking lot and parking in a dark corner.

"Faith, stay in the car and watch her. Kurt, set up a distraction spell, make sure that nobody comes around while we're inside." Xander gave his instructions. He could have used one on the drive back, but didn't want to tax the young wizard. There'd be time enough for magic use later. He pulled out a syringe from the glove compartment, passing it behind him. "Give this to Faith. Dope her again."

Robin passed the needle to Faith. "What is this?"

"Muscle relaxants, an adrenal suppressor, with a kick." Xander said. He closed the glove compartment and looked at the field watcher. "I'd think you'd know what it is. It's a derivative of the drug that you use on slayers. You know, when you want to torture them?"

"What?" Faith exclaimed from the back. She had just injected the bound slayer.

Xander looked at her. "It's called the Cruciamentum. Buffy had hers in Sunnydale a few years ago. You remember it?"

"Vaguely." Faith looked at her boyfriend. The memories started to come back. Buffy had told her about it afterward. She had been a loner then and hadn't paid much attention to what Buffy had said. Never knew how close she had been to her own, if Diana had survived.

"I've heard of it." Robin remembered references to it from the training he had received from his guardian. While he hadn't been trained to be a watcher in the beginning, he had learned much of the lore. "What's your point?"

"Giles disrupted it then because he cared about Buffy." Xander replied. "I notice that he's not that close to any of the slayers anymore. I'd hate to see any of the girls have to go through it. Especially now that you're all settled in. Missed a few I reckon."

"You think we would do that?" Robin asked, affronted at the blatant insinuation. He hadn't liked it when he heard it as a teenager. Still didn't.

Xander looked at him. "Andrew's a stickler for tradition. And I know that whole rite of passage thing would speak to him. In the poetic ways that such things can take. And Giles still has the slayers sticking to the traditional weapons. All I know, Vi's nineteen. And quite a few of my slayers are a bit younger than that. Wouldn't want you to go play catch up."

"If you hate it so much, then why are you using this now?" Faith asked. She held up the emptied syringe. She felt a bit dirty at having stuck a fellow slayer with the same drug that was used to weed out what the Council considered to be unworthy slayers. "I'd think you'd be the last one to want to use it, X."

Xander turned his gaze to the slayer. It looked like she wanted to protect her own. That was good. Very good. "Whatever it takes to get the job done. But, you don't see me dosing slayers just to see how much they can take."

He looked back at Robin. The watcher, even if he was more progressive than the old guard. Still, he was a watcher. It was a hard look. "You don't break faith with your people, Robin. Ever."

Robin narrowed his eyes. That wasn't the first time that Xander had referred to "his" slayers. And one of the few times that he remembered Xander referring to him directly by name. The watcher wondered how many slayers were with Xander, and how much of a threat that was. Further, the former high school principal wondered if it was really a slip that Xander had said it. He spoke firmly. "That's one tradition we won't be keeping."

"See that you don't." Xander got out of the car.

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Its headlights cutting a swath through the darkness. They'd past the US/Mexico border hours ago, the only point of tension in a while. A quick distraction spell from Kurt, coupled with a masking spell to hide the damage to their vehicle, had allowed Xander and his team to move through undisturbed. The wizard was rather tired now, and was dozing. The number of spells in so short a time period had worn him out. Still a lot of practice and gained experience.

They were back in the US, though it could be hard to tell in the dark. No cars around. And little to point towards civilization. Monet slowed down as she passed a marker in the middle of nowhere. She pulled off the highway onto a service road.

"Where are we going?" Robin asked. He'd been watching out the window for quite a while. The monotony of the desolate landscape had numbed him. The sharp turn had woken him from his reverie.

Xander looked back from the front. The mission in Mexico hadn't gone down exactly as planned. But, it had gone well enough. He had been silently working out who the potential leak was. It was rather short list. "We need to change vehicles."

They drove over the bumpy road about fifteen minutes before stopping in the middle of a sandy dirt patch. The empty desert, with nothing around. Except for one abandoned vehicle.

Monet stopped the car, while Xander got out. He walked over to the other car and bent down. He stretched his hand forth underneath until he found the switch, flicking it. It deactivated the security system. Nonlethal, but enough to deter anyone that took an unwanted interest in the sterilized vehicle. Not that the mid nineties sedan was much to look at. Xander also pulled out a hidden key that was taped onto the undercarriage.

He walked to the back while the others got out of the SUV, bar Faith who was watching over the captive in back. Xander popped the trunk, pulling out a shovel. He walked back over, in front of the SUV so that the others could see them. Visible in the headlights that had been left on.

Monet helped drag out the bound slayer with Faith following behind. With the rogue slayer's feet bound, she wouldn't be doing much walking on her own. Still glaring daggers at everybody though. Faith walked to the front of the SUV, interested in what Xander was doing. Monet dragged the rogue forward, into the light.

"What's that for?" Robin asked, looking at the shovel that the man before them was leaning against.

Xander tossed it to Kurt, who barely caught it. "You can use the exercise, get to digging. Deep, don't want the coyotes getting to it.

"Getting to what?" Kurt asked. Confused, and still a bit sleepy.

"Wait! What?" Faith exclaimed. She may not have graduated high school, but she was sharp. She'd picked up the game fast. "You're going to kill her?"

"No." Xander walked forward and stopped a few steps away from the chief slayer. He reached to his side and pulled out a gun. He turned it in his hand, holding it forward, handle out. "You are."

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Author's Note: Rogue15: While I will have more of Xander's contacts come out, I want to keep from using it too much. It becomes too much of a plot device to have everything answered because Xander happens to know a guy. I will go into Vi's relationship with Xander a bit more after the current arc is finished.

Also, a fic rec on Xanderzone, thanks by the way, mentioned that a crossover with Stargate SG-1 could work. It seems to be workable and there are ideas that I could work in. Any ideas on whether that would be a good thing? There's also some stuff updated on my profile. It'll be constantly updated if anything interesting comes up in reviews, so check it out. Thanks.


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Chapter 28: superHuman**

Author's Note: There is some more intense violence explored in this chapter. It's not graphically described so not bumping up to a Mature rating, but I think it's more intense than what was in previous chapters. So fair warning.

Oh, and I've updated my profile with some responses to reviews, especially Infin1x who brought up some interesting points. And I made a forum too. Oh and to add to what I put in my profile, I don't believe in the designated hero rule. Thanks for the reviews.

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Nobody spoke. And nobody moved. Xander brought his right hand up a bit, bringing attention to the gun he carried. Robin and Faith's eyes were upon it. But, they still said nothing.

"Kurt." Xander said, sharply. The wizard was standing there too. Shocked like the rest. "Get to digging."

The wizard complied. There really wasn't anything he could do. He might have been able to work a spell, but he knew that any attempt to do so would likely end with a bullet in his head. And, technically speaking, Xander hadn't threatened them. He just wanted Faith to commit cold blooded murder.

Rosemary noticed the gun and squirmed, trying to break free. Not much help the way she was chained up. And doped up.

"Graduation Day, Faith." Xander said, without emotion. He barely paid attention to the resistant slayer. Rose wouldn't be going anywhere. "It's time that you prove that you are exactly what I think you are."

"And what's that?" Faith said, with clenched teeth. She wondered why he was asking her to do this. If it was some kind of sick joke. Or if he thought that she was the same fallen slayer that she had become in Sunnydale the first time around. When she had tried to kill him.

"Someone that will do what it takes to get the job done." Xander looked at Robin. A hard glare like he used before. Robin wasn't making a move. He probably wouldn't unless he directly did something to harm Faith. Smart man. Then again, this could qualify.

Nobody noticed as Monet took a few steps back, away from the wedge of light created by the car's headbeams. Steps into the darkness. She took out her own sidearm, ready to move. Things could get really ugly. It wasn't the type of test that was graded on a curve.

"What do you think you're doing?" Robin asked, breaking out of his initial shock. He glared at Xander. Taking out the people that had threatened them was one thing. It was self defense. Killing a bound and helpless slayer was another.

In truth though, Xander hadn't deceived them. He had never actually said that they were there to bring the rogue slayer back to Cleveland for help, or rehabilitation, or even imprisonment. It had been their assumptions that that was the objective. Their own naïveté. Just further proof that Xander was operating from a whole different perspective. A whole nother way of seeing things.

"_My _job." Xander said, his eye never leaving Faith's. Robin may have been the watcher, but the Watchers' Council couldn't be about the watchers anymore. Though often the commanders and the source of great knowledge, they were just about the least valuable resource that the Council had to offer. And for the most part, the people he least cared about in the organization. While he didn't want to turn against them all, some were decent people after all, the government agent had more important concerns.

"I thought we were here to bring her back. To help her." Faith looked in Xander's eye. There was a moment when she saw through it, and into him. There wasn't anything in there. No soul. No heart. Just emptiness. It was a vast difference from the looks he would give to Vi.

"I never said that." Xander slowly shook his head. "If you remember, I said that there was an international agreement to execute rogue slayers. That includes America. Now, take the gun, and do your duty. A Slayer's duty."

The dark haired slayer took a step forward hesitantly. She had believed that the duty of a slayer was to protect. To help those that could not help themselves from the threats that came out of the night. But, Rosemary had shown her that the threat from the night could be one of their own.

"Faith." Robin said, quietly. He tried to move forward, but Monet stepped into the light next to him, gun held up to his head. He stopped.

"I was a rogue too." Faith looked at the one eyed man. She understood now why demons would be so scared of him. It wasn't the skills. It wasn't that he was some uberpowerful warrior. No super strength. No super agility. No superpowers at all. Just the willingness to reach deeper inside than anybody else. "Would you have killed me?"

Xander swallowed. He'd anticipated that question. The unpleasant memories of a time when he had been weak. When he'd tried to reach out to a lost soul, and had been slapped away. Vulnerability. "You don't want me to answer that."

"Xander, please." Faith's eyes were glistening a bit in the light of the car. Wondering how close to death she was during the times she had barely paid attention to the man in front of her. When she had allowed him to stand by her side.

"Yes." Xander said. He looked back at her. "We don't make the rules here. I'm trying to do what I can to keep you all from getting swept up in the whirlwind. This is what it comes down to. We protect our own. Even if that means from your own."

"Then why let me live?" Faith asked. She tried to keep a brave face. But, she was quickly coming apart. "Why didn't you kill me when you came back?"

"It wasn't necessary." Xander noticed how close she was to losing it. She was fighting what she had inside. The killer. Not the dark essence of the demon that was the source of the slayer's power, but the instinctual need to survive. To protect. The instinct that was pure human. Survival of the self. And of the species. It shouldn't have to be used, but it wasn't wrong to use it when needed. When there was an enemy to fight at least. "Whatever you did in the past, you're a different person. I see that now."

Faith took a step towards him. She knew that he was likely right in what was needed. But, to admit that would be a step back to the damnation she had struggled to walk away from.

"You turned yourself in." Xander spoke in even tones. Melodious, or as close to it as he could make it. "You changed. You changed yourself and locked that beast back in. But, that's the wrong thing. It'll only keep rattling the cage until it finds a way to slip out. The real change, is not in trying to control it, but in making sure it doesn't control you."

Faith looked down. "How?"

Xander looked up. "I owe you a story."

Faith looked at him blankly. Not getting the non sequitur.

"I wasn't in country for more than a week or so before I was found out." Xander chuckled, grimly. He recalled his own crucible in the desert. When he had found the need to change. To accept that own dark part of himself. "White boy playing tourist. Stumbled my way onto the trail of some slayers. Rather high number concentrated in one area. The slayer tracking program that Willow made pinged some hits. Ended up being faint traces, mostly. But, enough to get my attention."

Faith remembered the lack of slayers that Xander had sent back from Africa. It had seemed that he'd kept one from them at least. But, it didn't seem likely that there were many more that he had kept secret. "What happened?"

"They'd been rounded up. Warlords, human and otherwise, saw an opportunity. Not as fighters though. It was easier to use children. Put in an AK in their hands and you got yourself a readymade and willing to follow army at your disposal. Cheaper than trying to use slayers. But, these guys, they were strictly middlemen. Traces I found and the tips I got from them led me to something else." Xander said. He was looking at the slayer, but all he saw was the desert. He was still there. "I made my way to a tribe camped out in some place. Can't even remember the name of it. Course it ain't even there anymore, wiped out, so I guess it really doesn't matter much. It'd been hit, for that one lucky slayer that happened to have been Called there. By Willow. By us. It was burning when I got there. Bodies strewn out in the sun. The flies. It was crazy. Do you know what burnt bodies being feasted on by flies smells like?"

Faith said nothing.

"Only one left alive happened to be her brother. He sure as hell wasn't happy to see me." Xander took a breath and looked down. "After he stopped choking me, I told him that we'd get her back. And we did. The pieces anyway. The ones that were left that we could tell were hers. There were about twenty-five of them in that camp. They'd had fun, with the slayers. Really enjoyed themselves. It was still light when we came upon them. They were finishing up with their last take, and given the daylight we couldn't go in. We shouldn't have even when we got around to it being outnumbered and all, but that's neither here nor there. Bottom line, we watched and waited. We heard what they did to the slayers that were still alive. To her. And we smelled it. That's always one of the worst."

Faith looked at him. She hadn't imagined how bad it could be. She wondered why Giles had sent him in there. Perhaps one of the most innocent one of them all to make it out of Sunnydale.

"Five hours. They, really had their fun. We went in at night. After they had got their drink on. Half blitzed on hash. They just laid there for the most part. A couple of guards on watch. It was a temporary camp, so it wasn't that well protected. But, still, it was a lot of guys." Xander rubbed his eye. It was a bit red. "We knocked out the guards. It wasn't that hard. Sneaking up on vampires is harder. Still, damn lucky to have made it. When we found Dji's sister, he didn't take it well. I barely kept him back, but end of the night, we had the bastards tied up. I'd taken a hit in the shoulder and leg, and he'd broken his arm, but we made it through. You know what they did?"

"What?" Faith all but whispered at that point.

"They just laughed. They had achieved purity of faith through their desecration of the Slayer. It was religious rite." Xander turned to her. A rictus of pain on his face. Ironically a smile for him. Death's head grin. With the eye patch he could have passed for a pirate. "That's when I lost it. I killed them all with a sledgehammer I found. I just kept going, kept hammering, until there wasn't anything but paste left."

"What were they?" Faith asked. She could imagine how bad it must have been. The things left unsaid. Her mind just filled in the blanks. The desert sand, red with blood. It made her angry. "What kind of demons would have done something like that."

"Weren't demons." Xander was reliving the moment in his head. It'd always be there. "Just a bunch of guys. I found out later that they were Arcutrian by denomination, not that it made a difference. You think that killing people is wrong? Sometimes, there ain't nothing righter."

Xander shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Knowing that it wouldn't ever be. "I tried to ignore it for a while. But, that just doesn't work. You have to accept it. Take it in. Let it become a part of you. Cause in that place, Hell just keeps on coming. One-Eyed Jack. The Demon that Walks as a Man. There are still ghosts that follow me whose silence is deafening. Children wept when they saw me coming. Wherever I roamed I brought nothing but fire and destruction. Death shadowed me. And of all that. All of that darkness was always inside. I am Xander Harris. And I am One-Eyed Jack. And I always was."

Xander stood up straighter. No wavering in his stance.

"This is a hard thing. To ask and to do." Xander said, quietly. "But, things are coming. And they're coming for us all. I can't keep protecting you on my own."

He took a small step forward, the gun moving closer to her hand. "I know what you've done before. And I know this is probably the worst thing I could possibly ask you do to. Slayers are heroes. Righteous. And you want to hold onto that. I know what that's like. I've tried the same. But, right here, right now, you can't. I put the name behind me, but what he did, I do. It just doesn't consume me as it did then. And I don't want it to consume you. One-Eyed Jack was the boogeyman, but I am that man. Because at the end, all we can hope for is a day when it won't be necessary. But, today, it still is."

Faith nodded, weakly. She looked at him. The slayer noticed how tired the man seemed. Inhumanly tired. "Xander."

"There are no monsters here. Only us. Being superhuman doesn't make you not human." Xander closed in and placed the gun in her hand. He closed his other hand around hers. "This is wrong. So very wrong. But, it needs to be done. This can't be vengeance. It can't be for any emotional reason. You have to do this, because the slayers need to be protected. If you don't, then anytime a rogue goes on a rampage, we get one step closer to every major government on Earth taking you all out. And I won't let that happen. Will you?"

"Where's your humanity!" Robin shouted. The gun trained on him, kept him from moving. It didn't mean he had to stay quiet though. He noted that Kurt had stayed out of things. He was still just digging. The watcher knew that the slayers were in danger. But, that didn't mean that they could cross these lines. They were supposed to be heroes, damnit. This just wasn't right.

"You know what the greatest strength of humanity is?" Xander looked at the watcher. He was talking more to himself though. And to Faith. "The ability to turn it off."

Xander stepped back. "I will be here for you. I promise you that."

Faith stepped forward, the handgun in her hand shook a bit.

She looked at the bound slayer. Rosemary Hawthorne. That was her name. The slayer lying at her feet hadn't even made it to 21. It could have been her. It had been her just a few short years in the past.

They looked at each other. Both equally scared. Both trying to hide it, but failing. What had to be done needed to be done. She saw that now. For Rosemary. For herself. For the slayers. She saw it as Xander did. No illusions anymore. "I'm sorry."

A shot went off. It spread out into the night, dying away into nothingness.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Chapter 29: OPSEC**

"You want to talk about it?" Xander said. He looked out the window. Andrew was lecturing a group of slayers in the large yard at the back of the house. About thirty or so of them that he could see in the distance. He hoped that the geek wasn't telling them anything that would get them killed. Or ignoring what could be halfway decent advice. Fresh minds were fresh perspectives after all.

Xander turned around. Faith was seated on the bed in front of him. It was her room, so rather messy. Some random posters were taped to the wall. A rather large collection of music was set haphazardly on a drawer next to a rather impressive sound system. And clothes. All sorts, some of which he was sure it was inappropriate for him to see.

"What's there to talk about?" Faith said. She'd slipped a bit back into the tough chick identity. He could tell it wasn't all there though. "We accomplished the mission."

Xander chuckled. "The mission. The mission isn't everything."

Faith looked at him, a bit quizzically. She'd gone over her actions since she'd been back. Rather surprised that she had done it herself. Though she knew that for an instant when she had held that gun, she had been tempted to swing it around to Xander and pull the trigger. An instant too long.

"What else is there?" Faith asked.

"Life. Robin." Xander chuckled again. "You go in with this as solely a mission, and you're going to find yourself with less of a reason to come home everyday. Mission doesn't matter enough to keep fighting."

"Giles says it's a duty for slayers to be Slayers. An honor."

Xander laughed derisively. "Right. An honor to fight alone. To die alone. With nobody remembering what you've just done. Except for the few other fighters that'll be sad at your grave with the empty casket. For the Watcher that says some nice words about what an great privilege it was to be the one that led you. What an honor."

"You were talking about duty too. Back there."

"A slayer's duty is not just to the rest of mankind. Nor is it solely the slayer's duty. There are others out there." Xander took a breath. "A slayer's duty is to herself and her sisters first. Nobody is forcing you to be here. Great power may mean great responsibility. But, it's a responsibility you have to take on for yourself. For your own reasons. We are here because we chose to be here. Not every slayer makes that choice. That is a duty we take on for ourselves."

Xander looked at her seriously. "You aren't chosen, you choose."

"Is that why you're here?"

Xander walked forward and brushed some clothes off a chair. He sat down. "Did you know that I've had three job offers since Sunnydale?"

"What? More mercenary work?" Faith wondered when exactly he'd stopped working for them solely. And why it had happened. The massacre in Africa he had spoken of had not been the only thing that had affected him. That she was sure of.

"No." Xander shook his head. "Construction. Managerial position, basically middle management type jobs. But, plenty of room for advancement. I've have had the heavy lifting experience so the boys doing the grunt work respect me. And I've had plenty of experience dealing with people in positions of authority. If I wasn't doing this, I would be doing that."

He smiled. "Building things."

"So why are you here now?" Faith's tone was rather halting.

The memories were getting to her. Probably also the ones in the past. Finch for instance. And maybe one's he didn't know about. Xander suspected though that he'd ended up with a longer trail of corpses than she did. Probably made him one of the only ones that knew what she had gone through. Of course, there was also Angel or Spike. Though, the two vampires had truly enjoyed what they had done. Faith had only tried to. He, never had.

"I do this, because while I have the chance to walk away, I have the responsibility not to." Xander said, after a moment's thought. He looked at her closely. "Buffy spent a fair amount of time complaining about being the slayer. About how unfair it was. Which, in fact, it was. And she ultimately decided that it was okay to call every single potential. To force them into the life she had complained about for so long."

Faith remembered that. When Buffy had given the potentials the choice to be strong. She hadn't seen anything wrong with it at the time. None of them had. An army of strong women ready to make a stand against the dark. Evidently, Xander didn't think so. Now at least. "What does that have to do with it?"

"We took away those girls' innocence. Ripped it away." Xander said, grimly. No illusions, not for her, and not for himself. "It would be so easy to think that it was necessary. To think that it was the only choice."

"It was." Faith broke in. "We needed the slayers to walk into the Hellmouth. To survive that. There wasn't anybody left to help."

Xander shook his head again. "No. Buffy called in a bunch of army guys to de-chip Spike. I highly doubt that they wouldn't have wanted in on preventing the world from being destroyed. 'Cause, I'm pretty sure that national defense is what the military does."

Faith thought about it, and then grimaced. He was right. At the time it had seemed like the best choice for them. The opportunity for them to rise up. To show their strength. But, now maybe they shouldn't have.

"And the thing of it is, I was there too." Xander smiled. Not a particularly happy one. "I could have said something. But, I didn't. I didn't see the way that things should have gone. Could have gone. I wasn't the leader then. But, still. It's not an excuse."

"And what's why you're here?"

"I don't take my ball and go home when it gets hard." Xander stated. "What we did back then, hurt a lot of people. And it changed things in ways we don't fully get yet. There's a reason I'm back. And there's a reason why I have to do this, to all of you. No matter how much I may not want to."

"And that's why you're here." Faith said again. Not a question this time.

"Partly." Xander stood up. "I have an obligation to these women. To help them, however I can. I very easily could walk away. I have the reputation and the experience to do that in the normal mundane world. But, I do not. That's loyalty."

"And the rest?" Faith looked up at him. "How do you live with what you do?"

"What it comes down to. Is this." Xander walked to the door. He leaned against it. "Friday night. Saturday morning."

"What?"

"I do what I do on Friday night. So that there is a Saturday morning. Wouldn't want to miss that. Saturday morning cartoons. A walk in the park. Restaurants. The sunset."

"What?" Faith repeated, not getting what he was talking about.

Xander turned around, facing the slayer. "What I do on Friday night is not who I am every moment of every day. It is a job. I get well paid to serve a function that protects those that I think deserve to be protected. Then I go home after a good night's work and wake up the next day, which is then my own. I do the job, and walk away. And that's it."

"That makes it okay then?"

"No. It means that I can distance myself from the things that I have done. We're self-appointed cops in a land where the law is most harsh. Where it has to be. There is no room for emotional involvement in the actions I take. I may get angry, so very angry at what happens, but it cannot affect what we do. It has to be that way. " Xander said. "It does nothing to the weight that those actions have on me, and it shouldn't. What it does mean is that when I wake up, I know that there are 6 billion people that are going to wake up too. It means that as long as I can keep a clear head, I won't make the mistake of drowning in the blood I've drawn. It's what I do. It may define me, but it's not who I always have to be. And it's not who you are."

"I'm a murderer though. That, that isn't something that shouldn't not matter."

"We're murderers." Xander gently corrected her. "And it does matter. But, I strive to do better. To get to a place where I don't have to be that. Where I don't have to let that part of myself out anymore. Where I don't have to let Jack out to play. To get to a place where I deserve to stand in the presence of heroes. And so should you. You recognize what your past means. But, that dark past doesn't define you if you don't want it to."

Xander took a breath and opened the door. He felt his cell phone buzz in his pants. "I've got to go the bathroom. You might want to get Robin and wait for me."

Faith blinked, a bit disoriented at the return to normalcy. "Man. When did you'd get to be so smart?"

Xander threw a lopsided smile back over his shoulder. It didn't meet his eye. "Took a while. I wouldn't recommend it."

He wavered, and turned around. "You did good. You kept your head, you didn't panic, and you didn't get in the way. End of the day, everyone made it back home in one piece."

"Except for her."

"Except for her." Xander repeated. And conceded. "But, that's the way it should be. You deserve this second chance. Not many people in our world get that chance. She didn't want one."

"And that's it?"

"What else is there?" Xander could tell she was doing a bit better. She was getting there. The understanding that there was no dark side. Nothing to push them off the edge, except for themselves. Nothing drawing them down into that spiral. It was a choice, just as this was. "The thing you did, it needed to happen. Don't beat yourself up over it. It doesn't mean you're a bad person. It just means that when it comes down to it, you're willing to make a leader's choice. That makes you stronger than you realize. They're going to need that. Kobayashi Maru. Sometimes there aren't any right answers. Sometimes, that's the only answer you're ever going to get."

Xander took out a card from his pocket. Not a playing card this time. He set it on the small shelf that sat next to the bedroom door. "Call me any time. Day or night. It'll take time to get through it. But, you got it in you to make it past."

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Xander leaned against the sink counter. He wasn't happy.

"You're sure?" Xander said. He'd had to redial the number. The man on the other line hadn't been happy to have to wait for somebody to call him back.

"Yes. As far as we can tell, that's your leak."

"But, nothing definitive."

"No. Our people couldn't get close enough in the coffee shop to hear much. You know, we aren't actually allowed to do domestic." Barnes said, over the secure line. "We only have a couple of minutes left."

"Okay. I have the picture. Let me check it out." Xander considered his options. Pretty much all bad. He couldn't go the way he wanted to with this one. Treason was a capital offense. Something that wouldn't go over to well with the Council. Not that it would ever see the light of day in a court of law. "I'll come up with something. Thanks."

"Don't forget. And watch yourself now." Barnes hung up.

Xander pulled out a PDA from his shoulder bag. He was all about the high tech now. He couldn't use half the functions on the thing, but they'd made sure that he could use the necessary ones. He pulled up the picture that had been sent to him. It wasn't that clear, a clandestine shot, but it was clear enough.

"Damn." Xander said to himself. The last call he had received from Richard, and their later meet up had been alarming enough. A faerie sniffing around the Hellmouth. They'd lost track pretty quickly, but it was enough to bring up more questions. Even more now since Richard's description of the one running around Cleveland happened to match the same extremely beautiful woman that had been chatting up Andrew on more than one occasion. The one that Barnes had just sent him a picture of.

It was extremely circumstantial. But, faeries tended not to hang around Hellmouths without business to work. Usually of a type that wasn't beneficial to humanity. It could explain how Andrew had obtained the information on the Moldavia operation, which had resulted in his elevated position. It was only a coincidence at present though. But, those had a nasty way of turning out wrong.

Xander got up and washed his hands. He hadn't actually used the bathroom, but he needed to keep up appearances. Xander checked the wound on his arm. It had started to scab over. The surgery that had given him the thing had made some adjustments to his musculature to prevent too much damage. It still stabbed through enough flesh though. He walked out, Faith and Robin following behind.

"Took you long enough." Faith said, with a wry smile.

"Yeah, well you gotta go, you gotta go." Xander didn't spare a look towards her, instead focusing on his walk to Giles' office. They'd been debriefed earlier, but he had kept back his suspicions about the identity of the leak due to the lack of evidence. That had changed now.

"Where are you going?" Robin asked. He was following Faith, who was following Xander. A rather disturbing turn of events.

Xander looked back. "Job's not done yet."

Xander opened the door and walked in, the others behind him. They'd been the ones in danger as well as he. They deserved to be in on it too.

Giles was seated behind his desk. He looked up as the group walked in. He had debriefed them earlier in the day, and had assured Xander that he would check into matters. While he hadn't believed the security breach could have occurred on his side, Xander had been correct about enough to make it something worth investigating.

Xander noticed that Rudy was in the room too. Rudy Carravaggio. Looked like an accountant, one of the administrators to the men he was supposedly working for. A bit pudgy and nerd-like, his appearance belied his true skills. Truth was, he was an administrator. A very competent one working for the government which meant some degree of training. The backup in that room meant something at least.

Giles looked up from his seat. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Word's come back." Xander said. "Andrew's most probably the leak."

Robin stared at him. Faith didn't react much, keeping it a lot closer to the vest than she would have in the past.

"What evidence do you have?" Giles said, no emotion on his face or in his voice.

"Circumstantial." Xander replied. "He's been seen talking to people he shouldn't."

"And you know this, how?"

"I had him followed." Xander lay some more of his cards out. "Funny how he didn't notice that. Or that you didn't either."

"And you have this evidence with you?" Giles leaned back a bit, still no reaction. He was a bit surprised that Xander hadn't displayed any more feeling than he did.

"No." Xander shook his head. "Which is why I said it was circumstantial. I need him cut off. Maybe, I wasn't clear earlier. But, he's not to have any access to the slayers. Not in a teaching capacity, not in any capacity. I need you to trust me on this."

Giles smiled a bit. "Xander, you can't just expect us to cut him loose. He has proven his worth."

"I know." Xander interrupted what would surely have been a nauseating speech about Andrew's contribution. And the rising urge to retort with, "you cut me loose." He squelched it though. "That thing in Moldavia was a godsend with the intel that Andrew provided. And I suppose he did some good with that intel on the ground. You ever wonder where he had gotten it?"

"He has sources." Giles simply stated. "He has been around the world quite a bit."

"So have I." Xander smirked. "And even I didn't have that much on it."

"Xander. He has very good resources."

A glamour. Or a charm. He had been sure of it, but all tests said no. It was a bit infuriating. But, then things could change. So very very much. He had given up on trying to find out exactly where and when.

"Yeah. Too good." Rudy said, the first words he had spoken in the meeting. He walked forward from his previous place examining the books on Giles's shelves. "I'm with Xander on this. If this amounts to nothing, then we can bring Andrew back. If it is something, then it's better we keep him apart. Someone broke OPSEC for Mexico. And security of our movements is paramount. Next time, we could lose someone."

"I think that since Robin and Faith were there, that they should have a say in matters." Xander looked back at the two field personnel.

Robin stepped forward. His opinion of Andrew wasn't the most favorable. The younger and shorter man did contribute. That much was true. But, it hadn't been worth as much as other watchers thought. It hadn't meant a whole lot in the field. "I think that if Xander says that there's a good chance it's Andrew, that we should act."

"Robin." Giles turned to his field leader. A bit surprised that he would side with Xander on this. "Surely, you don't think it's true?"

"Why are you protecting him?" Faith broke in. The slayer angrily moved in. She didn't like that Giles, a man she had grown to respect was ignoring what the others were saying

"Faith. I'm not. I simply believe that we need more evidence before we carry out a witch-hunt."

Xander walked forward and placed a hand on Faith's shoulder. "Wait. He's right."

Faith and Robin looked at him with surprise.

"Xander?" Giles questioned. Caught off-guard by the sudden change in opinion.

Xander moved forward and leaned down, face to face with the head of the Watchers' Council. "You're right. We need hard evidence. And when we get it, I expect you to take care of matters. And if you delay this, or you don't do anything to protect the girls in the meantime, then I'm taking it out on you. Clean your house. Before I burn it down for you."

The one-eyed man turned around and walked out of the office.

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The walk out into the yard took a bit of time. Time enough to clear his head. He looked at the clear sky. The blue, bright and powerful. The black t-shirt he was wearing had been a gift from Vi. Not much else was needed in the warm weather. It fit well, though it exposed the bandage on his arm.

A short stone wall led down a path to the clearing that was often use as an outdoor classroom. Xander had noticed that Andrew and the others were still out there. If Giles was unwilling to take any precautions, then he'd have to make sure that Andrew was removed as a threat. Not through death. While Xander had an urge to do it, he knew that the best way of handling things was to let the slayers turn on the young watcher. All he had to do was let them see for themselves.

"Xander." He heard a voice behind him. A familiar one. He turned and caught the body that pressed against him. Lips on his own. It felt good. Right. He savored the moment.

"Vi." Xander smiled as he pulled back. She looked as good as she ever did. She'd had a couple of spots on the rotation when he'd been gone he knew, and it looked like there hadn't been any trouble. At least, nothing that she couldn't handle.

The redheaded slayer looked at him. Noticed the white bandage wrapped around his right forearm. She frowned, concerned. "Xander. What happened?"

Xander watched as his girlfriend lightly traced the edges of the binding with her fingertips. "Nothing I couldn't handle. Nothing permanently damaged."

"I wish I had gone with you. You could have used me." Vi had a stubborn look on her face. She had gained a lot of strength. Found it within herself when she had been in the Hellmouth, fighting the monsters.

"I'm glad you weren't." Xander frowned. "I want you to watch out for them. Make sure there's nobody snooping around."

Vi nodded. She saw the serious look on Xander's face. It was important. "What are you doing now?"

Xander inclined his head towards the clearing. "Taking care of loose ends."

Vi took a step back, letting Xander continue on his way. She followed behind.

It didn't take them long to reach the group. About thirty slayers or so were seated in a circle beneath a large tree. None that had seen his sparring match with their teacher. The two stayed mostly out of sight, content to listen in on the conversation before interfering.

"…Lando Calrissian's outfit. And I know a lot of you were gonna say Ewoks, but that's too easy. I love _Empire_. Of course I love _Empire_, let's not waste time questioning my loyalties, but the moment I saw Billy D. in the hizzy I smelled the troubles." Andrew said, hand gesticulating widely.

Xander rolled his eye when he heard Andrew talk about Billy Dee Williams. Street slang added to the vernacular. As if that made Andrew tough. Or cool. Or hip. Or any of the things kids said these days. He listened further.

"I mean it's great that George Lucas wanted to have an African-Bespinian character in the mix, but then he shows up with the cape and the little bellbottoms and I'm thinking, "Oh, he's gonna help Han and Chewie just as soon as he finishes the magic show for the kid's birthday party," I mean, knock knock, common sense trying to get in, door's locked, I'll buy a race of teddy bears with unstoppable tree-trunk technology any day over that outfit on a **leader**." Andrew continued.

Xander's inner geek winced inside. Lando wasn't an African-Bespinian. He was an African-Socorron. Lando had won the Cloud City mining facility on Bespin from Baron Raynor. He hadn't been born there, nor really even gone back there after the war. No, Lando had been born on the world that translated as "Scorched Earth" in Old Correllian. And that assumed that whatever place dark skinned people like Lando's race was from was even called Africa. And as unstoppable as the tree-trunk traps that only destroyed a couple of AT-ST's may have seemed, the Ewoks were getting slaughtered until Chewie had commandeered one of the walkers. Honestly, it was like the other geek had never even read the Expanded Universe.

"**That** outfit gets you beat up, is what. Especially at a… pep rally in junior high where you were supposed to be dressed like a cougar." Andrew said. He tried to recover. "From a friend I heard that."

Xander remembered that moment fondly. Good times. Good times.

"So. Does that answer your question?" Andrew finished his little speech. A tangent of which Xander had no idea where the starting point was.

"No." A young slayer said. She had pink dyed hair, spiked to a few points in front. Her right eyebrow was pierced by two rings.

Andrew raised a hand. "'Kay. What, uh, was it again?"

"Weapons." The slayer answered.

"Right. Weapons." Andrew got to his feet.

Xander took a seat on the stone wall. Vi sat next to him. If any of the slayers noticed, they didn't react.

"How come we have to use all this medieval junk?" The slayer looked up at their teacher. She raised her hands in emphasis. "We could totally get some **guns**, do some real damage. We're fighting demons here! Let's up the ante!"

Andrew was exasperated. "You didn't listen to a word I said, did you?"

"About Lando Calrissian?" The slayer asked, confused.

"No slayer carries a gun." Andrew waved his hand dismissively. "Ever, end of talk, good talk."

Xander was stunned. That was harsh. Even if the punk slayer had been wrong, which she hadn't, a real teacher would have explained why. Not just dismissed her idea like that.

Vi on the other hand was livid. The little bastard was putting her sisters in danger. Slayers had used guns in the past. They weren't always useful, shell casings could be hard to find after a fight, and it could be a problem to have to handle different types of ammunition for different targets, but to dismiss the use of modern weapons out of hand was just idiotic.

"Right." Xander said loudly. The eyes of the circle turned to him. "Right. Cause no slayer ever used a gun before."

Xander hopped down from the wall and walked to the group. "I mean, it isn't like the Judge was stopped by an AT4 back in Sunnydale. That would be an anti-tank weapon for the kids in the audience. What, you never read the files? So tell me then, are you really that much of an idiot, or are you trying to get them killed?"

"That's. That's not true." Andrew nearly stuttered. "It's the tradition that all slayers use traditional weapons. Honorable weapons. Civilized ones."

Xander shook his head. "Man. You so aren't using Star Wars in this, are you?"

"These ancient weapons have served the slayers for thousands of years." Andrew said, comfortable in his position. His previous fear of the man in front of him had been forgotten. Besides, he had to impress the slayers.

"Yeah." Vi broke in. She glared at the watcher. "Which is why they've led such short lives. Is that what you want for us?"

"Any of you ever take on a Haxil?" Xander asked. "About twelve feet tall. Big horns."

One of the slayers nodded. The oldest of them. Xander remembered meeting her once, but not the name.

"Damn near killed you didn't it?"

The slayer nodded. She remembered. The hulking death that lumbered after her, crossbows bolts bouncing off of armored hide. Spear guns ineffective. She'd gotten lucky and managed to drop a load of pipes onto it. The closest she'd ever come to death.

"I took one on once." Xander said. He looked the gathered slayers in the eye. Leah. That was her name. "Wasn't that hard. I was about six hundred yards out. .50 caliber bullet between the eyes. Out the back of the head. Thing went down hard. No fuss. No muss. And sure as heck no chance of me getting eaten."

Xander looked at Andrew. A steady gaze. Sizing him up. Size small. "How about you watcher-boy? You ever take on a big buck like that? With one of your swords? An axe maybe? Crossbow? That the way you'd do it? Meet it on the field of battle. One on one. Twenty paces at dawn?"

Andrew couldn't meet the look.

Xander snorted. He turned back to the slayers. "Me. I plan on coming home every night. I don't plan on having to risk my ass to let some boy get his rocks off playing samurai. By all means, follow him. If you got a death wish. If you want the best chance of surviving this, then talk to Monet. She'll help get you set up. Eduard will help you out."

Xander turned and walked away. Vi followed. Andrew was effectively neutralized. And he didn't even have to beat him up again. The slayers would look to themselves for more effective training. And Eduard was an alternative watcher. With a more modern path. He couldn't completely bring down the Council. Its support structure served a purpose. But, it had slowly turned back on itself, becoming more like the Council of old. Bureaucracy and the lack of experience that the slayers possessed, for now at least. The past wasn't to be completely ignored. The slayers had not been the leaders for a reason. They hadn't the experience. Experience that needed to be earned. This was their chance to do so. To live long enough to do so. So the Watcher/Slayer dynamic was maintained. For now.

Xander turned his head, looking back at the disgraced watcher. "Anya. You weren't worth it."

He continued walking. The slayer followed. Back down the path to the house. Content in being next to one another, neither felt the need to speak.

"Xander." Giles called out as they reached the House. "I have something on the disc that you showed us."

Xander turned to the head watcher. The tone had been strictly business. So would be his. "That's good. What is it?"

"It's from an ancient dialect of Mermani. Its speakers are all extinct at this point." Giles went on. "They're originally from a now sunken island of the coast of India."

"Right." Xander smiled. "Island off the coast of India. Mermani. That's Lemuria right there."

Giles took off his glasses and wiped the lenses. "That particular story attributed to their origins has never been proven. It's a myth. Getting back to the disc, we have the language, however translating it is being a bit more problematic."

"How long before it can be fully translated?" Vi asked. She'd been briefed on the issue by Rudy. It was somewhat interesting to think about a whole island civilization that had been wiped out mysteriously and taken by the waves.

Giles looked at the slayer. Vi, a most effective slayer, and one that had certainly taken on a prominent position in Cleveland. "A few days at most."

"Good." Xander said. "I'm taking Vi with me for a couple of days. So, we'll be back before you get it finished."

Xander turned to walk away.

"Wait." Giles said, calling them back. "You can't just take one of the slayers. Her duties-"

"I have a name you know." Vi said, a bit of a frown on her face.

"Yes. Vi." Giles turned to Xander. "She has responsibilities here and can't just go off whenever you choose."

"Don't worry." Xander said, a bit flippantly. "Vi's cleared her schedule and got another slayer to cover her shift tomorrow night. And she's more than caught up on her studies. Right?"

Vi nodded. Eager to go on the trip.

"Indeed." Giles stated. "However, it sets a bad precedent-"

"Right. Well, it's not like she's a slave here right?" Xander interrupted. "Anyway, I'm taking her to visit the biological parts of her family. You know, the ones that you didn't tell her about."

Xander walked off, leaving the now speechless watcher behind. Vi spared the older man a disapproving look while moving to catch up to Xander.

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Author's Note: That Andrew bit with the slayer was from the Buffy S8 comic Issue 2. The extra Star Wars critique was taken mainly from wookiepedia, so I'm only pretty sure it's accurate. When reading it originally the thing about Lando made me suspicious since I was pretty sure he wasn't from Bespin and hadn't been there long enough to be considered Bespinian. Could be wrong though. Thanks for the reviews. I did make that grammar change in Ch. 6. Thanks.

In general, I'm a bit concerned that I'm writing Vi to be weaker than she really is, as portrayed by the end of the series. Though she hasn't been featured much, so it's partly because she just hasn't appeared. That and it has been brought up before that Kennedy is OOC. Which is true. But, considering the time period I don't think it's wrong to do so. If nothing changed, then what's the point of doing a one year later type story a la neo-BSG or the DC Comics-verse? That's partly the whole point. It is addressed, and she moves beyond it, and it also will serve a purpose in the future. I am taking care of making it only happen for a reason as opposed to dislike of a character. Which is an odd criticism, since I didn't not like the character. Ah well.


	31. Chapter Thirty

**Chapter 30: Within a Mile of Home**

**A year before…**

"We saved the world." Xander looked at the giant sinkhole that used to be Sunnydale. The rock that Giles had just thrown in bounced its way down. It took a long time to make its way all the way to the bottom. When a pocket dimension piggybacked on a large one went kaput, it certainly made a big impression.

"We changed the world." Willow walked up to Buffy's side. She laid a hand on her shoulder. "I can feel them, Buffy. All over. Slayers are awakening everywhere."

"We'll have to find them." Dawn said, from her place at Buffy's other side.

"We will." Willow replied.

Giles walked behind them. "Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going in there tomorrow."

"We destroyed the mall?" Dawn asked. The truth of the situation hit her. "I fought on the wrong side."

"All those shops gone. The Gap, Starbucks, Toys R Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?" Xander quipped.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us." Giles said. He imagined the logistics of it all. Resources that needed to be reclaimed. Living space. Weapons. Training. Of course, he was the head of the slayers now. The Council may have been destroyed, but he had not.

Faith looked to Willow. A bit bemused that the man couldn't even take a moment to relax. "Can I push him in?"

"You've got my vote." Willow responded in jest, raising her finger.

"I just want to sleep, yo, for like a week." Faith said, the events catching up to her. She pushed Giles.

"I guess we all could, if we wanted to." Dawn stated. She felt the other side of it too. How much they had just done. And how tired she felt.

"Yeah." Willow smiled. "The First is scrunched, so… what do you think we should do Buffy?"

"Yeah, you're not the one and only chosen anymore." Faith interjected. "Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?"

"Yeah, Buffy." Dawn said, thinking about the future. "What are we gonna do now?"

Buffy stared straight ahead at the hole that used to be their home. She smiled. The future was in always in doubt, though for the moment she felt content. She didn't know that…

**Now…**

Xander pulled the car to the side of the street. It was a suburb, like many in Colorado Springs, or throughout the rest of America. This place was different though. Special in its own way, now that there was an emotional connection to the place. Not to him though, more to his passenger.

He turned off the engine and looked over to the person in the seat next to him. "We don't have to do this. If you don't want to."

Vi looked at him, and smiled warmly. "I know. But, we came this far right?"

"Yeah. Be a shame." Xander nodded. He returned the smile. "Still, there's time to walk away, and I hear that Cheyenne Mountain's not too far to the south. With my clearance, we could probably see if there really is a secret government agency that protects us from the aliens down there."

Vi laughed. "You watch too much tv."

Xander grinned, but it fell quickly, a concerned look on his face. "Seriously though, we can still walk if you don't feel right about this. I can make something up to them for you."

Vi leaned over and took his right hand in hers. She had a strong expression on her face. A sure one. He admired her conviction. And her inner strength was endearing. "No. I'm sure."

Xander smiled again, a loving expression. It was still a bit unfamiliar to him. He hadn't had much use for those types of expressions over the last year. And before that, he'd only had it for a few girls/women before. For one of those few, the feelings had changed. For another of them, things had fallen apart, from his own doing. At least that was what he told himself. The last really hadn't had a chance, despite how much he tried to make it work. This one though, felt realer than anything in the past. Despite the short time they'd really been together.

He squeezed her hand. Then opened the car door.

"Okay then. Let's do it."

**Nine Months Ago…**

The air was still filled with smoke. Some of it caused by the burning bodies, and some from the burning vehicles. Acrid, black smoke pluming up from the destruction that had so recently been caused.

Xander took out a canteen from his bag and took a drink. It was warm, with a slightly mineral taste. He didn't notice it. And it did little to quench his thirst. He drank it mostly from habit and necessity. His throat was still parched, but he barely noticed that either. He saw a car kicking up dust on the road to this current location, still quite a while away. The demon hunter waited for the man in the distance to drive up. It took a couple of minutes.

Xander replaced his canteen and set his bag on the ground, next to what he was using as a bench. The corpse of a large Haxil beast that he had killed less than an hour ago. The first casualty of the day's battle. Ibrahim Hasan had thought that that would be more than enough to protect him. That the other bodyguards he had hired would be unnecessary. He was wrong. Though ultimately, the other henchmen had not only been unnecessary, but useless and pointless as well.

As the car came to a stop in front of him, Xander drew his right hand closer to his hip, resting it on the tough hide of the large demon. Near his sidearm. His assault rifle was lying on the other side of the corpse, on the ground ready to be picked up and fired at a moment's notice. The large sniper rifle he had used earlier had been packed up already and sat in its case near his own vehicle. It lay parked a short distance from the burning building he was sitting in front of. It had taken some effort to find the place. It would take less time to burn it to the ground.

A large overweight man dressed in a rumpled and cheap linen suit stepped out of the old style Mercedes he was currently using. He wasn't sweating, while Xander had a small rivulet of perspiration streaming down the side of his face. His face was dirty, the dust sticking to the sweat still covering it. It was a bit odd, and disturbing. Not many were that cool in the desert. "Been waiting long, Mr. Harris?"

Xander looked at the man. In the past he wouldn't have wanted to be called mister. Bad connotations regarding his father. Now, it was who he was. Mister. The title for an adult. He was one now. He couldn't be a child anymore. Not after what they had all done. Though, he wasn't his father, and he didn't have to become him. He was Mr. Harris, just a different one. A man.

"Long enough." Xander said simply. "They call you Barnes. You have another name?"

"Barnes is fine." The man said. He walked closer, unsurprised neither by the destruction nor by the demonic corpse at his feet. "I assume you didn't do this solely for the joy of it."

"No." Xander stood up. At least the man hadn't come in hard and hostile. He walked over to his vehicle, an old battered pickup truck. The easiest vehicle he could acquire on short notice that would fit in. The old abandoned refinery had become temporary home to a large number of ruffians and he had needed to be able to blend in on his drive in to his chosen sniper position. "I was thinking we have something the other wants. This seemed the easiest way to come to you. Or rather, make you come to me."

Barnes raised his eyebrows. Not all that surprised though. It wasn't the first time some upstart had tried to impress him. He had a feeling though, that this one would turn out better than the rest. "Oh? And what exactly would that be?"

Xander opened the tailgate. A bound man, handcuffed and gagged, was squirming in the truck's bed. Ibrahim Hasan. "You have more satellite time than you're using. I want that. Amongst other things. In return, I get you the people that you want. This one's a freebie."

Xander dragged the body out of the truck and let him fall to the dusty ground. The man fell with a stifled groan.

"Impressive. We've been looking for Hasan for a while now." Barnes looked at the terrorist that lay before them. The man was wanted for all sorts of things. His bombs in the Middle East and the planned ones in Europe and the US had earned the criminal a lot of attention. His ability to go to ground, or former ability now it seemed, had been irksome. Whatever Xander's origins, he could certainly track down people that didn't want to be found. Likely through magical means. That gave the man resources that Barnes couldn't access. "This about the girls then?"

He already knew the answer. He hadn't become one of the best CIA agents in the whole continent if he didn't know about such a paradigm shift occurring on his watch. He just wanted the man in front of him to confirm it. Better that they both know what they were getting into.

Xander measured the Company man up with a hard look. He smiled, an unpleasant and rather dangerous one. In some ways, it seemed a bit forced. Like the young man hadn't used the muscles in a while, and was trying to remember how they worked. "Yeah. I figure we can do business together. I do the things you can't with your mundane assets, and…"

"And I cover up your nasty little dealings." Barnes finished. "Along with making sure your messes don't get too public."

Xander shrugged. "Pretty much."

Barnes returned the smile, equally unpleasant. "Then I think we can do business."

The CIA man knew what he was getting into. For the most part. His own information resources had quite a story to tell about the man in front of him. A singularly dangerous individual at this point. A great white demon hunter in the dark lands of Africa. The stories had been getting passed around for a couple of months. The infamous one-eyed stranger. Death that walked. The demon that only posed as a man.

Xander knew what he was getting into as well. Mr. Barnes. No first name. A true patriot of the United States. Old school warrior. Hardcase. The man had been running ops before Xander had been out of grade school.

Many people, even in Xander's circle, knew whom Barnes worked for and what he did. Of course, it was always unofficial. As were most of Barnes' dark dealings on the Dark Continent. One of the reasons why the man was stuck in perpetual fieldwork. The men in expensive and tailored suits back home had little use for someone that rough. In a way, Xander felt the same as Barnes did. Both getting things done, both cast off. In the end though, as ruthless as the man in the bad suit could be, Barnes was a man that could hold to a deal. Especially one that would ultimately be to the benefit of the United States of America. It was what made him trustworthy enough to deal with. To a point at least.

Barnes walked forward and held out his hand. Halfway a challenge. Like getting in bed with a shark. "We have a deal?"

Xander took it and tossed the older man a lopsided smile. A deal with the Devil perhaps. But, for now, it was the best he was going to get.

"Deal me in."

**Now…**

Xander stood in front of the front door. It was the entrance to a fairly large two-story house. A basketball hoop had been mounted over the two-car garage. The garden in front had been well kept. It looked like a typical suburban house. The only thing missing was the white picket fence. Xander rang the doorbell.

Vi twitched a bit, nervous.

Xander looked at her. He smiled. "Remember the cover story. And don't worry, everything's going to be fine."

An older man opened the door. Brown hair going a bit gray. He was in his mid forties. Handsome still. He looked at the two in front of him with some confusion. A man with an eye patch and dressed in a very boring black suit, and a young and clearly nervous girl. Not the usual visitors one expected on a Friday afternoon. "Can I help you with something?"

"Alexander Harris, Mr. Cooper. I called you earlier." Xander said. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a badge. He flipped it open and showed it to the man. "Department of Homeland Security, like I mentioned before."

"Then this is about…" Matthew Cooper started. He glanced at the young girl standing at his door, a different look in his eye. Trying to see if he could recognize her. He shook it off after a moment. He'd had trouble dealing with things when Xander had initially contacted him. It had been hard to come to terms with the story he had been told. Still, he had wanted them to visit. To sort things out. "Come in. Please come in."

Xander and Vi followed her father into the well-furnished living room. He offered them a seat on the couch, as he attempted to collect himself. They sat down.

"Who was at the door…" A woman about the same age as Mr. Cooper walked into the living room. She had vivid red hair and pale skin. A few freckles dotted her cheeks. Pretty.

Must be where Vi got her looks, Xander thought as he took in the woman before him. He stood up. "Agent Harris, ma'am. Your husband may have mentioned me coming today."

"Yes." Vanessa Cooper walked to her husband's side. A nervous look was on her face as well. The same one that Vi wore herself. "It's good to finally meet you. Both of you."

Xander looked down at Vi. He smiled at her, encouragingly. "I know that I haven't been all that forthcoming in my earlier communications. I felt it was important that we visit in person. That you had the chance to meet your daughter. Face to face."

While the Coopers had known that their daughter was alive now, it was something else entirely to have it said aloud. More real in a sense.

Vi's parents took a seat on a couch opposite to the one that Vi sat on. Xander retook his seat. "I know you have a lot of questions. I'll try to do my best to answer them. Now, what I'm going to tell you has to stay confidential. This is important."

**Seven months ago…**

Xander ran down the tunnel. It was slimy and filled with a thick smoke, but he didn't think about it. He didn't notice the smell either. To him the tunnel was bright green, the view slightly unclear due to the night vision goggles on his face. His target was the only thing that mattered that night.

He reached an intersection and listened. His left hand roamed to the dagger belted to his waist. He wasn't far from his quarry. Ten minutes of hard running on top of the earlier chase, and he was getting winded. He wouldn't be much in the fight if it kept going much longer. A roar off to his right set him off running again.

It had taken him quite a while to find the dagger. Most weapon shops didn't carry weapons designed to take out extinct demons. Or ones that were only thought to be extinct. The witch he had met a couple of days ago had set up him with a shop that sold more esoteric antiques. He'd been lucky. That luck was beginning to fade.

The demon had already taken two lives that night. Xander hadn't been able to track it very well. The odd Voice of the City hadn't been much help. The Kek demon had gotten by him on the surface and a young woman out for a stroll had paid the price for that mistake. He couldn't let that happen again.

He reached the midpoint of the tunnel and looked at another intersection. Xander could see it vaguely in the distance. The demon was still roaring. Its grey, thickly scaled skin reflected the dim light thrown by light bars set in the walls. Its claws dripped red. Blood. From Xander's side. At least he hoped that was the only source. He felt his lungs burn. His left side as well. The demon probably had some mild toxin coating its claws. Or just hadn't washed them recently. Xander hoped the wounds wouldn't get infected in the dank and dirty sewer. He hadn't been quick enough earlier. Or able enough. This time would be different. It had to be.

Xander watched as it advanced on a young girl holding a pipe. She was trying to fend off the demon, and doing a pretty fair job of it. It had taken a few blows and was still trying to shake them off. Whoever she was, she was strong. And tough enough to hold off a monster that had to be a shock to see. At least for the moment. She would tire, no matter her strength. And, without the right weapon, she'd soon get ripped apart. The demon's next victim. At least, if Xander failed. He didn't have time for stealth anymore.

"Hey!" Xander shouted. Trying to attract the Kek's attention. He wasn't about to let down another young woman. "We're not done yet. You haven't gotten to the main course."

The demon turned around. Ignoring what had been so close to death a moment before. She had smelled so delicious. Fear and anger mixed. Power. She would make a fine meal. But, there was something else to deal with first.

It roared again. And started running at the foolish human hunter that had attacked him earlier in the evening. A small slash on its chest was still burning. A gift from the insignificant little insect that had tried to interrupt its feeding.

"Stupid human." The Kek growled loudly. It ran faster. "STUPID PUNY HUMAN!"

Xander raised his right arm. He carefully aimed. Unfortunately, given the loss of his eye, wearing night vision goggles meant that he had no depth perception. He made sure he had the shot and fired his handgun, emptying the magazine as quickly as he could without losing sight of his target. The bullets just annoyed the demon. Not that Xander expected anything else to happen. He dropped his gun and pulled out his dagger. He gripped it in his right hand. Ready for thrusting.

As the demon got close Xander dove forward, to the large demon's side. The human was weaker. Less durable. And a heck of a lot slower. In straight lines anyway.

Xander was able to get to his feet before the demon could stop and turn around. At that speed and given the Kek's hefty bulk, it was rather hard to turn once it got going. More juggernaut than ballerina.

Xander dropped to his knees, the demon's claws whistling past where his throat had been a moment before. He moved in fast and thrust upward hard, the dagger held flat in order to prevent getting caught on the demon's ribs. The dagger slipped in clean, right into the Kek's heart. The demon fell back, dropping dead. The magical dagger having done its job. Xander checked the body, making sure it was actually deceased and not playing possum, then pulled out the weapon, cleaning it off on his kill's scaly hide. It was finished, not that it was much consolation to its victims. At least there wouldn't be anymore. He placed the now clean weapon back into its sheath and walked back up the tunnel to the intersection. He picked up his gun on his way forward. He ejected the spent magazine and pocketed it. Another one pulled from a pouch on his belt and locked into place and he was ready to go.

As Xander strode ahead, the young woman stepped forward, pipe raised high. She had fair skin he could tell that. Not much else could be made out though. He raised his hands. A serious look on his face. He kept his eye on the figure, ready to bring the gun into play at a moment's notice. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you're okay."

The girl said nothing and still held the pipe. A defiant look on her face. Whoever she was, she was one tough chick. No wonder she had held her own against the demon.

Xander pulled off his night vision goggles, squinting a bit in the normal, but dim, light. He focused on the figure in front of him. Red hair. Slim build.

"Xander?" The girl said, uncertainly. She lowered the pipe. "I thought you were supposed to be in Africa."

"Vi?" Xander said, the situation was a bit surreal. Of all the places in all the world, he had to meet someone that recognized him. In the sewers of New York no less. That was one in a million. He turned, listening for any others. Slayers didn't work alone anymore. Not even just partnered with watchers, but also with other slayers, and magic users. One of the smarter things that had been kept when Giles had reformed the Council.

There wasn't anything but the dripping of water off of rusted pipes. Then he heard it. A few voices drifted towards him from the tunnel he had come down from. A female voice complaining, and a male one rebuking. Slayers and their watchers. They weren't that far back. "I need to go. You'll be fine till they get here."

Xander made his way forward away from the voices. Ready to leave through one of the other tunnels. He stopped and looked back. "You know, you really should do some more research before you go hunting. And try not to get separated from the group."

Xander put the goggles back on and made sure it was fitted properly.

"Xander, wait." Vi called him back. She had shaken off her shock. He looked different. Black clothes and an armored vest. Web gear over the vest. A departure from the plaids and jeans he had worn in the past. He carried himself differently as well. Confidence. And a sense of severity. "Thanks."

Xander stopped and looked at her. She smiled at him. A rather brilliant one. He could tell that even through the goggles. It made him feel a bit strange. These days the potential victims that were saved didn't stay around long enough to thank him. Of course, he didn't usually stick around either. "It's what I do."

Xander took out the Kekfadlorem forged dagger and dropped it. "I figure this'll take some explaining. Kek demons need that to kill them. Don't mention me."

He started towards the tunnel again. He wasn't sure if she would blab about him or not. In some ways, he didn't really care anymore. It would change things, but it could make things easier for him. To not have to hide anymore.

Vi took him by the arm. He hesitated and looked back at her.

"You doing okay?" Vi asked. He hadn't been in Cleveland very long, just enough time to get them all settled. He'd been a big help when they had reached their new home. Coming down from the battle had allowed them the time to feel. It had been rather trying for many of them, but he'd been there for him. A shoulder to lean on. Someone to talk to. Then something had happened, things had changed, and he had left. The Scooby Gang, as she knew they had called themselves, had been disbanded. Buffy to Europe, Willow on some magical mystery tour, and Xander to Africa. She'd missed him. She knew that some of the other slayers had too, at the time. Though over time they had become more involved with the slaying, and had forgotten him. She hadn't though. Not really.

Xander hesitated. It was hard to turn away from the look on her face. It affected a part of him he had tried to turn off. He had thought he had succeeded. Apparently, he hadn't. "Yeah. You?"

She smiled. "Better now. But, you should go. You going to stay in touch? I missed talking with you."

Xander looked at her. He hesitated. It was hard to turn away from one of his girls. As they had all become. Once he had accepted responsibility for his actions. Then the hunter nodded. "I'll call you. I promise."

She let him go, and watched him as he ran quickly, but silently, down the tunnel. Away from the quickly approaching Council members. Away from her. He certainly had changed. Alone in ways she had never seen him before.

**Now…**

Xander looked at the pictures on the mantle. The couple in younger days. A young boy holding a trophy in his hands. A family portrait, of three. There hadn't been anything like that in his house growing up. Except for a few material possessions, he hadn't really lost anything when his home had been destroyed. He had a few pictures of his friends that he had brought with him out of Sunnydale. But, that was pretty much it. He knew his parents had made it out of Sunnydale in the mass exodus, but he had no idea where they had gone. Hadn't even really felt the need to try to find them.

He turned around. "For a good while a cult got it into their collective heads that certain girls were special. Chosen. And that their coming would mean something great for the group. They thought they could identify these girls at birth, and so they went and took certain ones. Stole them, then covered it up."

"What does this have to do with our daughter?" Vanessa asked. She was growing a bit impatient.

Xander smiled a bit, he knew it was rough going. It had to be for a mother. He understood the situation, though he had no real similar experience. Still, humans had empathy towards others of their own kind. It helped bond them to each other. After all that had happened, he hadn't lost that completely. "This cult was dangerous and my department was tasked with bringing them in. Domestic terrorism is part of our domain when we decide that it's dangerous enough. The ongoing operation resulted in a number of girls liberated that we didn't know exactly what do with. Here, I have to stress that the girls were all extremely well treated. They weren't abused in any way. Still though, it's clearly not an okay situation."

The Coopers looked at their daughter, trying to imagine what she had gone through. Xander watched them. He felt bad at the lies he was telling. Technically, it wasn't all lies, but half-truths and omissions were hardly the best method of communicating during the traditional "meet the parents" scenario. He could have told them the truth, but since Level 6 had achieved official status, the real truth about the world had been classified. The cover story would serve as a gauge as to whether the Coopers could be trusted with the whole truth. He had his orders. It wasn't an ideal situation, but it was the best he could hope for. For the moment at least.

"The cult's still around in other cells, and the girls need to be protected. They know where the girls are really from, so we have to be careful and make sure our movements aren't tracked. They have extremely good resources." Xander took his seat on the couch again. Next to Vi. "We were able to track down some of the parents and families of the stolen. Uh, you. And I was able to convince my superiors that the security risk in this case would be minimal since the cell that had her had been brought down already. With Vi's help. I thought she should be given this chance. She's been a big help on our other cases and has a strong rapport with the other girls. You should be proud."

Vi's parents looked pleased at that. Proud that their daughter, no matter the upbringing was a strong individual. And was helping others. Vi's mother was a nurse and her father was a professor at a local college. It seemed like helping people was in her bloodline.

"Since I was able to track you down, I felt that it was only right that you know." Xander continued. "That she be able to meet you."

Vanessa looked at her daughter. Seeing part of herself in the young woman before her. While the nervousness was still there, she could see how strong Vi was. And that there was some connection between her daughter and the man next to her.

"So what exactly do you do?" Vanessa asked. "With the girls?"

Xander rubbed the back of his neck. "I serve as caseworker mostly. Working with them on how best to identify where others of the girls might be found. Or where the cells operate. Vi is one of the young women I work with."

"And that's it?" Vanessa had a good feeling about the young man. She was a good judge of character.

"Anything more would be inappropriate. I do care for her, don't get me wrong. She is my friend." Xander stood up. He felt a bit awkward. Both in trying to pretend to be an official run of the mill G-man, and in being the odd man out in a family situation. "I'll give you some time alone."

"We were going to name you Amanda." Vi's mother said. After your grandmother.

Vi smiled. "I like Vi. Maybe Vi Amanda Cooper."

Vanessa returned the favor. She looked at Special Agent Harris. "How long can she stay?"

It was good that she seemed to genuinely want to get to know her daughter. Xander had been worried that her family wouldn't want her. Even after they had agreed to meet with them. She deserved to have parents who truly cared for her. Even if he hadn't had the same privilege.

Xander gave a sympathetic smile. "Only a couple of days for now. And I can give you a number to keep in touch with her. There are still people looking for women like her. And like I said, they have very good resources. And a long reach."

**Three weeks ago…**

Giles made his way to the small shop. It was situated near Payne and East 20th St. In Chinatown. He could smell the herbs and teas that were the store's stock and trade. The mixture was pungent and sweet. With a spicy undertone. Nearly overpowering. A bell rang out as the door was opened.

A small Asian man walked out from the back room as soon as he heard the bell. He was well dressed, a small gold cross hung from his neck. Though elderly, the man had a sure pace and strength in his step. "Mr. Giles. Are you here to purchase some tea? I have some exquisite teas from Ceylon this afternoon."

"Not today, Brian. And call me Rupert." Giles said. He had known the storekeeper from his days on the old Council. Though it had not been work related. They had lost touch in recent years, and it was quite a shock for them both to meet each other again by accident in Cleveland. Though not very close, they had moved in some of the same social circles. "I need some information."

The storeowner picked up a tray from behind the counter and placed two small teacups on it. Along with it he placed a small teapot and poured some hot water into it from a hot water heater. A few small spoonfuls of blended tea topped with the pot's cover completed it. Brian brought the set around to the front and placed it onto the small table in the store's center. There, he motioned Giles to sit down, while taking his own seat.

They both waited for the tea to finish steeping before speaking again.

Giles took the proffered cup and took a sip. "Excellent tea."

"Thank you." Brian nodded his head. "Now, the information you seek."

The storeowner had not always been a purveyor of herbs and tea. In the past, up until about ten years ago, he had been primarily an information broker. With contacts all over the world, the man had been able to find out nearly anything about anybody with enough time. And money. Of course, Giles had not been able to utilize that resource, retirement on the other man's part had denied him that chance. Of course, the old Council's policies would not have allowed them to do business in any case. In the past, they had merely conversed socially. Though Giles had always known that the man still kept up with important events in the supernatural world. Most didn't walk away completely once expose to the real world.

"It's come to my attention of the existence of a demon hunter. He goes by the name, One-Eyed Jack." Giles stated. "Have you heard anything about him?"

Brian sat back. He nodded. "He's caused quite a stir in the last year or so. A very dangerous man."

"How much do you know?"

The former information broker shook his head. "Not that much. Most of the stories of his actual feats have likely been exaggerated. There is very little that can be confirmed. Fact, not conjecture. That was my motto."

"Indeed." Giles took another sip. "Then what information do you have?"

"As far as I can tell, he started out fairly green." The storekeeper took a sip as well. "Extremely thorough, but very messy, at least in the beginning. His abilities however have seemingly gotten better much quicker than most young hunters. Either he had a teacher, or his ability to learn is remarkable. Some of his work about six months ago has caused great waves in the lower realms. Coupled with his confirmed contacts, and he is a formidable opponent for anyone."

"Really?"

"Oh yes." Brian said. "There have been contracts on his life. None have succeeded. From what I hear, he sent back the assassins in bits. With a message not to mess with him. A message that has some have taken seriously. The new Archduke of the Tregian demon clan has declared him off limits."

"Where does he stand then?" Giles asked. He had heard of the Tregians. Grey skin. Antelope type horns. Demonic royalty. Blue bloods, literally. The clan had had over forty legions of demonic soldiers. Though that incident in LA last year had cut that number by quite a bit. Still, they were a strong presence down below. "It hardly seems to be with the rest of humanity, if the stories about him are true. And to have demons unwilling to go after him. Really now."

Brian shook his head in disagreement. "I don't think so. The Council has kept you sheltered from the realities of independent operators, Rupert. Not everyone has super powers, nor the support that your Council provided. These people tend to make compromises that you would not. The reality of their situations force them to do so. They don't have the luxuries that you enjoy."

"So he's human then?" Giles ignored the mild rebuke.

"All reports indicate that he is." Brian confirmed. "If you're planning on going after him, I would suggest you not. He may be responsible for some rather ruthless and unsavory actions, but nothing he has done has led anyone to suspect that he isn't looking out for the rest of humanity. He is a demon hunter primarily after all. Although, he has worked for demons in the past. So, what his true purpose is, is still a mystery."

Giles said nothing. He was deep in thought. Xander was getting in deep. While the abilities were surprising, it seemed like Xander aka Jack, was losing himself. Perhaps an attempt to prove himself to the Council. To him. Whatever had happened, the young man needed to be brought back in line. The Council was to be the lead, the independents may have their uses, but Xander's case now proved why the Council should be in charge. Such actions as had been attributed to the young man could not be tolerated. The Council, and humanity, should be above such acts. It was undignified.

They had to be above such things. To save the world and lose themselves was not an acceptable course. Humanity should be better than that. It could not fall into darkness and evil as Xander seemed to be on the path towards. Whatever their disagreements, the young man deserved to be saved.

Xander had changed. Savage and wild. Uncivilized. It was a disturbing turn of events.

**Now…**

"How'd you get that eye patch?" Mark asked. He'd come home from school a short time after Xander had arrived there. He was shooting a few baskets outside now, keeping Xander company while Vi had some more time with her parents.

Xander grinned at the kid playing basketball. He was taking it pretty well. A fully-grown sister that suddenly appeared could be a bit off-putting. But, the young had a way of adapting quickly to new situations. Mark had talked for a while with the members of his newly enlarged family, but then had come outside to play. Partly to keep the government agent company. A real life special agent was certainly impressive to a young boy. "Well, they let anybody in now days. Besides, it adds to their cool factor."

"You look like Nick Fury." Mark said, a child's innocence in his voice.

Xander smiled. It wasn't the first time he had heard the comparison. He'd made the reference himself a few times himself. "Yeah, but it'll be a few years before I'm director of SHIELD. But, don't let anyone in on that."

Mark returned the smile. Though he thought it was odd that a government agent would act so goofily. Not at all like Mulder or Scully at all.

Vi walked out the front door, followed by her parents. Xander turned to look. She came down the driveway to talk to him. He noted the brilliant smile on her face. Things had certainly seemed to go well.

"Xander." Vi said, obviously happy. "My parents have invited me to dinner. They want you to come to. Can we?"

"Sure." Xander said. "We have the time. I'm glad you're all getting along."

"Thank you for bringing us back our daughter." Vanessa said, reaching the pair. Nineteen years ago, she'd been heartbroken when she'd learned that her eldest had been stillborn. It had taken quite a while to get over the pain, and to try again. To learn that she had been stolen instead, that was a different sort of grief. Mixed with anger. But, the overwhelming emotion here and now was joy. The family reunited.

Xander could feel the emotions in them overflow. It was one of the few genuinely positive things he had done in recent memory. Nobody had to be too egregiously manipulated, and nobody had died. He hadn't even had to threaten anybody with bodily harm. He smiled. Sometimes, things like this made it all worth it. "You're very welcome."

Vi hugged her family and said her goodbyes. They'd be back soon though, for dinner.

Matt came forward and held out his hand. Xander took it and shook. A firm grip on both parts. "Thank you."

Xander nodded.

After a moment, they withdrew. Xander led Vi back to the car. She looked back at the family, her family, that was still watching her.

"How'd it go?" Xander asked quietly as they got into the vehicle.

"Well." Vi replied. "Thanks."

"It's what I do." Xander said.

Vi looked at him. She remembered when he had spoken those words to her before. He was different now. He had grown. And she loved him even more for it. As harsh as he could be to his enemies, his humanity was still there. However, ruthless his actions, and however cruel he may be forced to be, he was still Xander to her. And he could always make her smile. It hurt that he had to go to such lengths to look out for them, but it was moving that he was willing to do so, nobody how far he had to go. Jack was still there, inside of him, but she knew that it was a shield for them all. He could be both. He was both. But, Xander was hers. And, she knew that he would always try to come back to her. And Xander trying was a very awesome thing indeed.

**Yesterday…**

"How could you?" Robin shouted. They were in the basement now. Nobody was using it at the moment and the former high school teacher had wanted to speak to Xander alone. While the debriefing had allowed him some time to work through his own feelings about what had happened, he was still extremely angry.

Xander looked at him. "How could I do what?"

Robin glared back at him. "You know what I'm talking about. You forced her to murder that girl."

"Yes, yes I did." Xander said, equally confrontational. While Robin had shown support for him during the debriefing, he knew that it was only because of the other slayers. He wanted to make sure they were safe, the same as Xander did. Of course, they both had different ways of trying to accomplish that. And things could fall apart if Robin turned against him now. Best to nip it in the bud now. While emotions made the other man less set in his ways. Once cold calculation set in, it would be harder to change his mind.

"Why?" Robin asked. He had known how dangerous and merciless the man could be. But, to force others to the same path was unfathomable. A far step from what he had come to view the man to be. He was forced, yet again, to reevaluate the man. "Why would you ask her to do that?"

"You really think I'm here to do this for fun? Or because I'm just trying to be a jerk?" Xander responded. "There are very serious people out there that have a vested interest in seeing you all go down. And on top of that, there are other very serious people out there that have a vested interest in carving out what they can from this little organization of yours for their own use. A personal army of slayers. You don't think some criminal mastermind or rogue general wouldn't want that?"

"So what then?" Robin clenched his jaw. "You're going to turn them into killers first?"

Xander shook his head. "No, I'm making sure that if and when the day comes that they have to prove to the world that they're not going to be used, that they're strong enough to do it. It's going to take sacrifices on all our parts."

"I want you away from Monet. And Vi." Robin said. "And especially Faith."

"Too late for that." Xander smirked. He was goading intentionally now. It had to be done. "And Vi isn't your concern. I would suggest you get over this quick. Faith's going to have to take on a lot of responsibility, and that is going to end up with her doing a lot of things she shouldn't have to. Things even I'd rather she not have to do. And that is going to require support on your part. So I gotta know."

"Know what?" Robin said, through gritted teeth. He knew that Xander had slayers of his own. He wondered whether they had bought into Xander's way completely. Or whether they were still what slayers should be. Like his mother was.

"If you really care for her." Xander answered. "Or if this is some Oedipal complex you have. Your momma was too into the fight to care for you and you lost her. So you're going to try to get Faith out, so you can have your own personal slayer devoted to you, as your mother should have been. That the way it is?"

Robin punched him. Hard.

Xander stayed on his feet though. He rubbed his jaw. It had hurt, but it probably wouldn't leave a bruise. He didn't bruise that easily anymore. Thick skin. Good thing since it would look bad for tomorrow to show up with a large red spot on his face. He smirked. "I guess not. Let's keep it that way. You get that one for free. Next time, you have to pay for it."

"Why?" Robin asked. "Why come back here and do it this way. I know you have the ability to help us. You've proven that. As well as your loyalty to the slayers and the mission. But, this, this is just way over the top."

"Why? Cause you're all walking in the land of the blind. Blissfully unaware of what's out there. It isn't all vampires and demons. There's more. And they're coming. Coming for us all. And we aren't ready yet. Any of us." Xander moved forward, looking Robin in the eyes. A serious look on his face. A cold stare. Invasion of personal space. "I do this because I'm the guy that sees, everything. I protect you from enemies you don't even know you have. It's what I do."

Robin met the gaze. And returned it, equally harsh. "The guy who took your eye tell you that?"

The expression on Xander's face got even colder. Hard to believe it was even possible. "As a matter of fact, he did."

Robin winced at that, not trying to hide it. It was a low blow. "Sorry."

"Forget it." Xander backed off. He had come on strong for a reason. To apologize or to play it low-key would have made him seem weak. Easy to ignore and brush off. Truth was, Robin had a positive effect on the head slayer. And he was a decent man in a fight, when he didn't try to make things personal. Robin's last vendetta hadn't gone well. Now though, he had gotten through to the man. Despite the personalities grating. So, he didn't have to be so antagonistic anymore. "We did this. To them. We made them make the ultimate sacrifice. And we have to salvage it. The best way we can. You don't have to like it. You don't even have to like me. But, if you are any kind of man you will help me with this. We owe them us making the same sacrifice. Or do you want to see Faith dissected by some scientist wanting to replicate the slayers?"

Xander walked towards the stairs. "Hate me, if you want. Down here, in private. Up there though, that's the real business. That's professional. And you'd better be a professional up there too. Cause if you aren't, and it hurts any of them, I'm coming back for you. And you'll see what happens when I get personal."

He turned and walked back up to the main floor. Robin just watched him go. There had been no emotions in Xander's tone when he had uttered the threat. Robin wondered if the man was even capable of anything but anger and cold apathy anymore.

**Now…**

"That was fun." Xander said. He was sitting in the desk chair in Vi's hotel room. The dinner hadn't gone too badly. Though initially a bit awkward, since to Vi's family, he was a federal agent. In truth, he was, but only because he'd been given the rank. No tests, no real hiring process. No years of schooling and college and then climbing up the ranks. He just was.

He'd gotten separate hotel rooms for the both of them. It had actually taken more than a moment's thought when he had set up the arrangements. On the one hand, they were going out. On the other hand, it hadn't been for that long. He hadn't even slept with her yet.

Which was rather different from his other relationships. There was Willow. In kindergarten, so it didn't really count. Then there was Cordelia. Which was essentially physical. Though he had felt it could have grown into more. If he hadn't let himself screw it up. Then Faith. Which was basically a blur of touch and taste. Then her trying to kill him almost the next day. Then Anya. His first real, mature relationship. Which had also begun with sex. He'd loved her. Though by the end, it had fallen apart. He had found out he wasn't ready for marriage, and had wanted to slow down to make sure he was doing things right. Hadn't wanted to screw it up. She had responded by having sex with Spike. Clearly, they had been looking for different things. Didn't change the fact that he had loved her though.

Vi was different. If Anya had been his Gwen Stacy, then Vi was his Mary Jane Watson. Different in all sorts of ways. Younger than him for one. That was a change. Especially given Anya. And drastically less experienced. Product of a stunted upbringing. She'd snapped out of it fairly well, but in many ways she was still rather innocent. So he hadn't wanted to rush things and had gotten separate rooms. So there wasn't a perceived expectation of moving things forward too quickly than she might have been comfortable with. Too quickly, simply because he was the guy and she was this younger girl alone in a hotel room with him. A rather strange position since he wasn't the pursued in this relationship. It may have been a bit outdated in thinking. But still, it was who he was.

"Yes. It was." Vi walked out of the bathroom. She'd taken a shower and her hair was limp, clinging to the back of her neck. She was dressed in a bathrobe. Barefoot. She looked paler than usual. The green of her eyes more vibrant somehow. More liquid. She walked towards him.

He smiled. A bit unsure of what was happening.

She pulled him to his feet. He let her. She kissed him for a moment and then pulled back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Xander said after a moment. "I think maybe I should go back to my room. You know, big day tomorrow."

Vi held him in his place. To let him know that she wanted him to stay. She let him go after a moment, the message clear.

Xander took a step back, but didn't try to leave. Though a part of him really wanted to bolt for the door. Yup, he thought. He'd really grown since high school.

Vi stood there. Looking at him. She had an uncertain look on her face. Her posture was a bit unsure. Mixed in was a touch of fear. Fear of rejection. But, above all, it was raw. Honest. She wasn't coming on like Faith, the ultimate sex kitten. None of Anya's extreme forthrightness either. Though he didn't think of the women he had been with before. All he could think of was Vi. And damn, if it wasn't infinitely more alluring than anything that he could have thought of.

"Vi." Xander said at last. He backed up, feeling a bit closed in by Vi in front of him and the bed in back of him. "Uh, I don't want you to think that you have to do this. That you owe me something for any of this."

"It's been a long time since you've been with anyone." Vi stated. No question in her tone. She knew him too well.

"Uh, well we've been going out." Xander gulped. Though he knew that that really wasn't what she meant.

Vi smiled knowingly. "You know what I mean."

"Well, I've been busy." Xander said. "You know, we don't have to do this. If you don't-"

"You were my first kiss, Xander." Vi said in a low voice. She came closer and put a hand on his chest. He could feel the heat even through his shirt. "I'm glad you're going to be my _first_ too."

She closed in and kissed him. Lightly, and sweetly. When she pulled back, she had a wicked gleam in her eyes. And a serious look on her face. She pushed him onto the bed. "And I'm not doing this because I owe you. I'm doing this because I want to."

Her intentions were clear.

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Author's Note: Longest chapter to date. The first part's from the series finale of Buffy, which should be obvious. The next bit is going to be more about how others are reacting to Xander. Especially since so much has been from his perspective. Haven't posted the older bits at Xanderzone since I wanted to get these latest chapters out while I still remembered what I wanted to cover.


	32. Chapter Thirty One

**Chapter 31: Aftermath**

"It's taken some time and effort to translate, and we aren't quite sure on the exact grammatical structure, but we are fairly certain that this is what the text says." Giles pointed at the whiteboard he had set up in the main conference room. On it was a carefully transcribed passage in Mermani. It was the text from the cogwheel that had proven a headache for the number of people on both teams investigating it. To date, only Giles' watchers had come up with a likely English version. They weren't inept. Giles wanted to prove that at least. The one-eyed man in the audience could see that easily enough.

Xander leaned back and looked at the board with a bored expression on his face. He knew it was important, and that it may mean the difference between saving the world and watching it be destroyed, but at the present moment, he really didn't want to try to stay awake for another lecture. He'd try to leave that behind him in high school. Briefings. Debriefings. Status reports. And the occasional performance review. It was becoming so structured, so real. Not at all like the more impromptu and less serious Scooby meetings of old. Of course, he also tried to keep his mind off of his girlfriend, especially her naked. Weird word that, he thought. Girlfriend.

Giles pointed at the English translation that he had written above the runic characters of the ancient language. He spoke in the same professor-sounding tone.

"Roughly speaking." Giles went on, "It says: Place the Mighty Wheel of Everlasting Unity onto the center of the Spire of Perpetual Strength. The assembled piece is then placed into the notched recessed area next to the Crystal of Crimson Destiny."

Xander stared blankly at the watcher. Weeks of work for that. "So what you're saying, is that its instructions? An ancient instruction manual."

Giles nodded, a bit meekly. Not a usual expression, but this was kind of embarrassing. "Uh, that's correct."

"Wow." Xander said. It felt oddly anti-climatic. "That's not really helpful is it. I don't suppose you have a lead on any other artifacts? Or the rest of the instruction manual?"

"Actually, we have come up with something." Robin put in. He hadn't gotten over his recent dislike of the man seated across from him on the long side of the central table. But, this was work-related and it wasn't the time. "We put the word out to some of our contacts and we were able to come across an object that might be related. An artifact called the Crystal of Crimson Destiny. Words match. Could be the same thing."

Xander nodded. A bit impressed. His own people hadn't come up with nearly as much. It wasn't that surprising though. While his contacts were varied, and possessing of their own great knowledge, the ones that he could readily access tended to be more concerned with the immediate, as opposed to the historical. Especially if it involved what was commonly thought of as myth and legend. "Okay. So where is it?"

"Paradiso, Arizona." Giles answered. "It only has about three hundred inhabitants. Small town. Low crime rate. Perfectly safe from all accounts."

"Like Sunnydale?" Xander threw out. Odd magical happenstances tended to congregate around areas with low population density. There had been a study about that phenomenon that he had read the summary of, and then skimmed the rest. Still, it seemed to hold true in his experience.

Giles looked at him. He frowned. "Not exactly. There is absolutely nothing supernatural about it that has come up. No unexplained disappearances or deaths. Nothing at all to suggest anything suspicious. We may have gotten lucky here."

"Then why's this crystal lead to there?" Xander was still suspicious. It had become nearly second nature to him now.

"Apparently, it was purchased by a former governor and place upon a statue in the town's square." Giles responded. "To them, it's just a decoration. They have no idea of its history."

Xander looked a bit skeptical of that. In his experience, items of supernatural significance rarely remained untouched by those that desired them for long.

"I have already booked the tickets for two." Giles noticed Xander's disbelieving look and relented. It couldn't hurt to bring a bit more muscle. Just in case. "I can get more. Robin, I want you to prepare a team to go with you to obtain this crystal."

Robin nodded. He glanced over at Xander. "I'll need someone that can identify this, just in case. There might be other artifacts there as well. Ones that haven't made it into the public eye. Xander could be right. Not everything may lay on the surface."

"Andrew was the one that decoded this passage." Giles said. He knew that Xander wouldn't be happy about that. "I was planning on having him go with you."

"I thought I made myself clear earlier." Xander said, through gritted teeth. "Why exactly is Andrew allowed access to what should obviously be kept confidential?"

"I thoroughly investigated matters." Giles defended himself. He wiped his eyeglasses. Exasperated at the now ubiquitous and annoying criticism. "He was not the security breach. There are no holes on our side."

"You've cleared him in what, two, three days?" Xander was incredulous. "He's been seen talking. Who was he talking too?"

"Apparently, it was a date." The head watcher stated. He was tired of constantly being questioned. He was the leader here. "They were just talking. He said that he didn't say anything about what we do. I believe him."

"You're telling me that he wouldn't talk to impress some girl?" Xander wondered if Giles was that naïve, or if he himself was just that paranoid. He could tell from Giles' set expression that things would only get worse before they got better. He'd lost too much cred in his time away to get it back so quickly. If he had really ever possessed it. It caused an odd hurt feeling to bubble up his stomach. Like a part of the past that couldn't be regained. Only one way to handle the situation now. Unfortunately. "Okay. Fine. But, I'm going on this mission too. With my own people. This is too important to play by halves."

He didn't really want to have to go. The right team could have taken care of a simple snatch and grab. Even if there was more there than the crystal. His involvement with the Council was becoming a lot deeper than he had planned. A few of his own people involved and watching over the situtation, with more slayers with proper training, should have been enough. He had his own team to worry about. And his own set of problems. The Immortal thing was still on the back burner. And Richard was getting antsy over it.

Robin watched the interplay. He didn't know exactly who to side with. On the one hand, Andrew had not betrayed them as of yet, despite his sordid past. The younger watcher had made mistakes, dangerous mistakes, but going along in a purely academic role would be safe enough. He would, however, make sure that Andrew would not serve in any field leadership roles. That did not mean that Andrew was worthless. His contributions had been quite real, though perhaps slightly overvalued. On the other hand, Xander's instincts had proven accurate in the past. He could tell that Xander was firm on things, and that Giles would want to argue the matter. If only to prove that he was in charge.

"Okay." Robin said, breaking the stalemate. "I could do with the backup. This is what I'm thinking."

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Vi was sweating heavily. Her hair was bound in a short ponytail, but already wisps of it were sticking to the back of her neck. She breathed out and turned, a quick kick struck the heavy bag. Followed by even faster punches. A combo. Half strength. She didn't want to destroy the thing after all. Just a quick workout to work off some energy. She wasn't on the night's patrol rotation, and wanted to not be too hyper for her date tonight. The hyperness would come back later in the night.

Faith walked down the stairs and watched the younger slayer work out. Her form was excellent. And it was a style that the slayers at the Council didn't learn. Curious that. But, it may not be all that surprising given what she had learned in the past few days. Not all the things that had come out had been about her alone.

"So how'd it go?" Faith leaned against the wall next to the stairs. She watched as Vi turned around to face her, a bit surprised. She could be stealthy when she needed to be. In your face attitude wasn't the only thing that worked.

"What?" Vi walked over to a bench near the wall, and picked up a towel. She wiped herself off and tossed the used towel into a basket nearby.

Faith smiled wryly. She'd had a couple of days to go over what Xander had told her. She still felt the deaths she had caused. But, she was beginning to learn to live with it. She had things to live for now. "That little vacation with Xander?"

Vi blushed. Given her pale skin, it was usually easily seen, but the heavy workout made it harder. Though, Faith could still tell. "I don't know what you mean."

"A little fling? Something more?" Faith said. She walked forward and took a seat on the bench. "How was he?"

Vi glared at the elder slayer. She took off her hand wraps and picked up a bottle of water, taking a sip. "I don't think that's any of your business."

"C'mon. Just between us girls." Faith smiled, a bit invitingly at the other slayer. "It's not like I haven't gotten sweaty with him before."

"He's with me now." Vi's look grew hard. She sat down on the bench.

"Relax, tiger." Faith smirked. A bit of her old self coming back. It wasn't all an act this time. Not a shield, but allowing her own personality to come through. It may be a bit rough on the sides, but it was her own. She didn't want to pretend anymore. "I got my own man now. Not about to poach yours."

"See that you don't." Vi took a look at the slayer next to her, moving to other topics of interest. "How are the others doing?"

"They're not doing too bad." Faith shrugged. "Not getting thrown around as much."

A few of the slayers had talked to Monet about additional training. They'd started a bit slow, but a number of them were showing real aptitude. Right now it was basic weapons training. Gun safety. And hand to hand combat. Not the more generic drills that the slayers were normally taught, but more advanced concepts. They weren't experts in everything yet, but they were getting there. Tactical sense took time to develop.

On her own side, she stayed mainly on the sidelines. She joined in the unarmed combat training, but stayed away from the guns. Bad connotations. The only time she'd had to use a gun hadn't been a good thing. Xander would probably have something to say about that, but she wasn't ready to take that next step. Not yet, anyway.

She was still a bit unsure on the new path the slayers were taking. The last year had shown that as a team, the slayers could be quite formidable. However, they hadn't come across anything too difficult. The odd vampire nest, and demon attack. A small outbreak of zombies was about the worst thing they'd come across. The Suvolte nest that Xander had taken out the month or so before had been just about the worst thing they'd seen since coming to Cleveland. As Hellmouths went, it wasn't that impressive.

Most of the other slayers were holding back from the divergent patch set before them. The new abilities that the few trying it out were learning could be a boon. But, they still hadn't been put to the test. Thousands of years of tradition and heritage could not so easily be set aside. Even if she could see some of the benefits.

"I'm glad." Vi responded. "How long do you think before they're ready to do it for real?"

"I don't know." Faith turned to Vi with a serious look. "The stuff they've had up till now is holding them back I think. What they were taught and what they're doing now. It'll be slow going for a while. They're still trying to figure out what to forget. And the rest want to see it in action before committing."

"The watchers are pretty serious about the way slayers should fight." Vi concluded. "Let's just hope that we won't have to find out which way is best for a while. And that nobody gets hurt when that happens."

Faith nodded her head in agreement. She looked forward at the room in front of her. Usually it was bustling with activity. Not right now though. "So how was he?"

Vi took another look at the slayer beside her. Her sister. She relented. "Good. Amazing."

Faith noticed as the younger woman blushed again. They may be kickass fighters, but they could still be women. And women gossiped. "Yeah. He was something."

While she wouldn't have minded details, Faith did now that the young woman was way less experienced than she was. And much more innocent. She relented as well. "So what else did you do? Where'd you guys go?"

Vi had known that she would have to answer that question eventually. When she'd taken the small vacation, she hadn't told anyone where she was going. Though, Monet and a few others already knew. She had wondered about what she was going to do. Xander had told her the decision was hers alone. No orders. No top secret classification on this. Just what was best for her. What was best for them all.

Faith gave her a supportive expression. It wasn't that natural, but it was starting to become one.

"I have a brother." Vi said, deciding on her path. "I went home."

"Home? I thought you were raised by your watcher." Faith was confused. She didn't know the other slayer that well, but as one of the few ones with official training, Vi had some prominence amongst the others. Especially given that she was one of the veterans of the Stand.

"I was." Vi stated. She remembered her past. It wasn't that bad. The training hadn't been overly harsh, though it had clearly faltered in her later years. She remembered that when she had been fourteen or so the training had dropped right off. Right when the more complex combat areas were stressed. It had been deemed a low priority. Her watcher had told her that the two active slayers at the time had both quit. The trained field watcher personnel had been needed elsewhere. So watchers whose expertise lay in research and more academic pursuits took over her education. It was school full time. Just less PE.

With her as the only student, it left her less than prepared for dealing with others. Both peers and members of the opposite sex. Her own watcher had given her a rudimentary overview of sex education. The straight biology of it. She'd never been expected to need any information beyond that. On that point, the watcher had been wrong.

"I was stolen." Vi continued. "From my parents. Xander found them, and they wanted to see me. And I wanted to see them."

"Vi….I" Faith didn't know what to say. It wasn't one of the things that she'd anticipated when she found herself in a more matronly role for the other slayers. It wasn't all the birds and the bees and a shoulder to cry on.

"He's looking for others. Other families." Vi ignored Faith's brief interruption. "He kept it a secret, cause he didn't want to get their hopes up."

"Then Giles knew?" Faith asked. Partly to herself. "And Robin?"

"Giles did." Vi shook her head. "I don't know about Robin."

"So how was it?" The visit, not the sex. Faith knew that she'd have to talk to the watchers about what had happened. Things had changed for them. But evidently, not that much. Watchers used slayers. And secrets were still kept. But, that confrontation would happen later.

"Great." Vi said. She smiled.

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"William Naslund." Director Grainer said to the man seated before him. "And Isaiah Bradley."

"Those are your picks then?" Curtis looked up from the file he was reading through. While Xander was away, he was in command of the unit. Including the additional backup team members that they would be getting. Xander had picked them out first, seeing their obvious potential, but the choices had required Grainer's confirmation.

"Correct." The director replied. "Naslund's a sniper. The enhancements have increased his accuracy and his distance by about 45. Along with the general strength, durability, and stamina improvements. That was a bit unexpected. We hadn't anticipated extra improvements on specialized skills. Though, from what Xander has said, there does appear to be some variation in how slayer abilities are distributed among the different chosen."

"I bet Wesker would just love to look into that." Xander's second in command said offhandedly. "What about Isaiah?"

"Bradley was an Army Ranger. Infiltration was his specialty. His stealth skills and senses have been extremely enhanced. As were strength and general reflexes. His close quarter battle abilities are better than anybody currently assigned here."

"And the rest?" Curtis looked up. The project was displaying extremely promising results. The cream of the crop, so to speak, was far in advance of anything any other military force could deploy. While the front line soldiers may not make up the most powerful aspects of a country's armed forces, they were still the backbone.

Grainer shook his head. "We've seen improvements across the board. None of them as of yet are that high. Strength and stamina are seen in all cases. Senses and muscle control improvement in approximately a quarter of the test subjects. A few other abilities in lesser percentages."

"And any of the more, uh, occult aspects?" Curtis asked. "Anything show up?"

"No." Grainer didn't think that that was necessarily a bad thing. Magical empowered beings were just that. Empowered. It wasn't innate. Which meant that it might possibly be taken away. And it definitely meant that there was someone up there that could apply undue influence on those gifted. "We tried to avoid that in the melding process. While our boys aren't as strong nor as durable as the slayers, they are stronger than most demons they would come across. Coupled with their previous training, it looks like the Epsilons are a success."

"Which makes the people upstairs happy." Myers said, channeling Xander. Though he had his own reservations of the project, he did understand why it was necessary. And he didn't have it in him to say that American soldiers shouldn't have the best possible advantages. FBI meant bonds. Ones not easily broken.

"We all have someone we have to answer to." Grainer replied, not needing to completely address the issue. Then again, he supported the initiative. Still, the quick timing of it was something to be wary about. "And we all had to give something up. Besides, what happened with Walsh isn't going to happen again. I won't let it."

"I would hope not." Myers said, for himself and the man that couldn't be there to say it.

"Their full jackets are in the file." Grainer closed the folder on his desk. The briefing was over.

Curtis stood up. "Xander's supposed to be back any time. I'll start bringing them up to speed on how we operate until then. Have you decided to add them to our team, sir?"

"Not yet." Grainer rubbed his chin. While they had only been working together officially for a few months, Xander and his men worked well together. They were as cohesive a unit as he had ever seen in the past. "I want them to train with you. They're new at the whole supernatural focus we have here, so they need to be brought up to speed before I can let you have them full time. For now, besides training and observation, they're going to be attached to Ryan's team."

"Okay." Myers stood up. "I guess that's it then."

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Amy floated down the long stone walkway in the large dark cave. The avatar of her Goddess perched on her shoulder, a steady and comforting warmth in the cold.

They were deep underground. A temple that had belonged to one of the Old Ones. Out of time, it had sat waiting. Waiting for a master that would never come. Now it had been co-opted and twisted for another use. A darker use.

Amy stopped and looked over the edge. It was a long way down to the bottom. The dim natural phosphorescence of glow worms lit the cavern. A few floating torches helped, but not by much. She could barely see the writhing, chitinous forms that scampered along the bottoms. Some dug their sharp claws into the walls and walked along those as well. All were searching for something to eat.

An alien chittering emanated from below. Amy felt a chill go through her spine. Despite her utter belief in her cause and her mistress, the sound of the army below never failed to set her on edge.

"They are growing strong." Amy said, in a tone that only attempted at confidence. "And their numbers are increasing ever more. They are almost ready."

"Yes." The strong feminine voice sounded in her head. It was a clear sound, carrying all the confidence that her disciple did not feel. "Events are at last unfolding as I have desired. The setbacks we have faced will not deter my righteous path. Soon we will have the machine and the way will be clear for my coming."

Amy took one last look. A flick of flame from the walls allowed her a clear look at one of the monstrous forms below. Compound eyes stared back at her from a large triangular head. Large, uneven teeth in strong jaws gleamed, blood from a recent meal dripped off of them. She saw the thick arms attached to its trunk like body flex. It looked like it would like nothing better than to raise its arms and send forth a swarm of poisonous darts at her. Its natural and highly toxic weaponry.

World devourers, they were barely sentient beings bred for a single purpose. What little they understood they understood well. War. Battle. Feeding. Procreation. Death. Forged out of pure malevolence over thousands of generations they had been forced to evolve into perfect killing machines. Over a million worlds in a thousand different dimensions had fallen before the black swarm. They were growing restless. All of them could feel the coming battle. Their time. The Cython were hungry.

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Author's Note: Trying to catch up with a few of the dangling plotlines. Thanks for the reviews. Please send more.


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

**Chapter 32: Paradise Found**

It was hot. The sun beat down on them hard, as they drove down the nearly deserted highway in their newly rented SUV. Not many folks headed down to Paradiso, Arizona. Robin was driving and he had the AC on all the way. It helped a lot. Modern technology certainly had its uses. A twin car matched their speed a car length or so behind. Xander's team. The ones he had brought along anyway. Going in with too many would look way too odd. He was pushing it as it was. The now experienced field man was riding up front in the lead car this time. He would have rather been with his own. But, this way meant it was easier to keep track of Andrew.

Xander looked out the window. A few minutes passed and they drove into the small town that was their destination. A small boy walking down the sidewalk waved at him, a smile on his face. He waved back, a bit slowly. There wasn't much of a smile on his own face. Creepy. "Nice place."

Robin spared a glance at one of his passengers. It was the longest sentence the other man had said the whole car ride from the airport. The man that had returned wasn't nearly as talkative as he had been in the past. Still, it was pretty un-Xander like. "Guess so."

"It looks like Stars Hollow." Andrew exclaimed from the back seat. His face was pressed to the window. For the past month or so he had been cooped up at the House. While Giles hadn't strictly forbidden him from going out on patrols or missions, word had spread amongst the field watchers. Word that he wasn't to be picked as a team member. Eduard and Robin had made sure that none of the slayers that might have wanted him along on anything, were able to find the dishonored watcher when it came up. So he was wired. Excited to be out, getting things done. "If it was in the desert."

Xander didn't spare a glance behind. The comment was sort of accurate. Bits of it did look like the small town setting. He'd seen the show. In a house full of young women it was hard not to have seen segments of that particular show.

It had taken a good hour from the airport they'd arrived at to get to this point. An hour of having to listen to the watcher behind him blather on about something or other. The thought of kicking the boy out into the desert and leaving him behind had a certain amount of grim appeal. Robin wouldn't like that though. Probably.

Robin pulled the car up to the building that served as City Hall. Across the two lane street was a fair stretch of grass. A few people were milling around. Some kids tossed a football around. Town square. In the center of that stood a large statue. As well as the object of their desire. The vehicle behind them pulled up to the space behind. They all got out of their respective cars and stood in near the entrance to the building.

A rather large group of people gathered. Pretty suspicious, so Xander didn't want them milling around together for that long. Besides, it was a fairly decent mix of ethnicities. At least, more varied than most in the town had seen before. A black man and an Asian woman. The diversity boggled the mind. Would certainly highlight them in the minds of the townspeople.

Xander looked across the way onto the small grass field. He couldn't see exactly what the statue was of, but he did see a large red crystal, reflecting the bright sunlight. Just waiting to be plucked. It was fairly obvious what it was. Cindy's head shake to him told him that there wasn't anything mystical protecting it. "What say we just go over there and grab the crystal. I'm sure a little distraction spell and we could be out of here in five minutes. Be home before tomorrow."

"We can't just steal from innocent people." Robin looked at him. "We may have to do a lot of questionable things, but it hasn't reached that point yet."

"That's right." Andrew pushed in from behind them. Trying to get in on the action of the men that were obviously in charge. "It'd be dishonorable. We can't just steal."

"I can." Jack grinned and raised his hand. "I vote we just grab it."

Xander chuckled. As much as he wanted to, it wasn't his call. Not this time. "No. Let's play it straight. For now."

"So what do we do then?" Jack questioned the leaders.

"What say we check out the statue now?" Xander looked to Robin, the official man in charge.

"No, I think we should get the feel of things first." Robin said. "Check out the people in charge."

Xander shrugged. Wasn't his call. Yet.

Robin led the way into the brick building in front of them. Xander had his own people spread to check the small town out. Get the lay of the land. Considering the size of the town, it was impossible that they would not be noticed. Word would spread fast about the newcomers. Hopefully, nobody would get too nervous.

The small reception area of City Hall was cool and rather dark. A nice change from the outside. Robin stepped up to the front desk, the receptionist had been eying them since they'd come in. She gave them an appraising look. She certainly didn't seem to look dangerous.

"Hi." Robin smiled brightly. "We were just passing through and noticed the incredible statue outside and I was wondering if you knew anything about it."

The pretty young receptionist smiled back. She had a nameplate on her desk that labeled her, Mindy. "Well, you're in luck. The mayor just loves talking about that ole' thing. Take a seat, and I'll see if he's in."

Robin led Xander, Andrew, and Leah to the seats in the waiting area part of the room. They sat, except for Xander.

The one-eyed man looked around the room. Taking it in. There wasn't much that seemed out of place. Though the receptionist was still looking at them, smiling. She winked at him. It could have been a come-on. But, probably not. What it was was a bit unnerving. He smiled back, though it didn't really reach his eye.

He looked at the field watcher that sat by him. "Something feel off about this to you Robin?"

Robin looked up. He shook his head, reluctantly. Not really trusting his instincts about the place. "Not really. Seems like a perfectly normal small town."

"Yeah. Perfectly normal." Xander looked back around. Bad vibes all around. Evidently, the watcher couldn't feel it. He couldn't see anything himself. Nothing logically seemed out of place. No warning signs blasting out that there was danger there. Everyone they had seen had been nice enough. Still. He knew enough to trust his own instincts. "If this was Rome, Wisconsin."

Robin stared at him blankly.

Xander shook his head. "Tom Skerritt? David E. Kelley? Picket Fences? Did you just never watch tv when you were playing demon hunter?"

Robin returned the expression with a glare. "I wasn't playing."

Xander ignored it. "Leah, you picking anything up on your slayer sense?"

The slayer assigned to them for this operation looked a bit uncomfortable. She hadn't had that much field experience, though she had done fairly well on her routine patrols. Giles had decided that a steady rotation of new and inexperienced slayers on low priority and less hazardous missions would let them grow and mature into a strong and well rounded group. Of course, it also meant that they were stuck with a less than experienced slayer if things turned out bad on this particular job. "Not really. I mean, there's nothing here. But…"

"It just feels off." Xander finished, in a near whisper. He knew the feeling. It felt sort of like being back in Sunnydale.

Leah just nodded in response. At least she was picking up on something, even if she couldn't identify exactly what it was.

"Yeah." Xander said quietly again. "Meeting with the mayor. Without an appointment. That's just all kinds of normal."

"It could be." Andrew added, equally quiet, surprisingly enough. "Small towns are known for their hospitality to strangers."

Both Xander and Robin looked at him as if he was from another planet. Xander snorted. "Please don't tell me that you're getting that bit of intelligence from the Gilmore Girls."

"Uh… Not really." Andrew tried to cover. "It's a well known fact. Common knowledge."

"Yes." Xander agreed. "In Hollywoodland. Where small town folksy types are always nice and friendly. And the heroes never lose. The bad guys get defeated before the last credits roll. And nobody good ever dies young without the appropriate top 40 soundtrack."

"Andrew. Maybe you should just stop talking." Robin put in, trying to put a lid on the situation. He didn't particularly like Andrew being along, but still, he couldn't have the two at each other's throats the whole time they were there.

Xander looked at the receptionist, she was motioning them over. Looked like they were about to meet the mayor. "Why do I get the feeling that this isn't Paradise?"

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The mayor's office was neatly decorated. Everything was in its place. Including a picture of the mayor with Bill Clinton. Xander looked at that with interest. Apparently, Mayor Joshua Klein was a good buddy with the former president.

"Well, what can I do for you gentlemen, ladies?" Mayor Klein said warmly from behind his desk. He motioned for the group to sit down. Robin and Andrew sat in the chairs in front of the mayor's desk, while Leah took a seat on the plush couch against one of the walls. Xander stood behind the men. He wished he could have something on top of his t-shirt. The weather would make a sweater over an armored vest a bit too conspicuous. He scratched the bandage around his arm.

"Well, we were wondering about the statue you have out front." Robin said. He was slightly off balance at the feeling the politician in front of them exhibited. Not so much the sleazy, oily veneer of a professional politician, but an honest friendliness. Freaky stuff. Maybe he was just getting jaded in his still pretty young age. "We were just passing through on our way to Yuma. Saw the statue and got intrigued. My friend here is a real geology buff."

"Yup." Xander deadpanned. "That's me. Love those rocks."

Robin smiled for the both of them. "We didn't think we'd get an audience with the mayor."

Klein returned the favor. "Always doing my part to welcome newcomers. There isn't near enough excitement around these parts. And it can get so tiresome seeing the same faces day after day. Would any of you like something to drink? Mindy makes a mean pink lemonade. She adds in these lemonade ice cubes too. Wouldn't be any trouble at all."

Xander muttered. "I'll bet."

"What was that son?" The mayor still had that smile on his face. It was getting creepy, at least to Xander. Shades of Richard Wilkins. Without the whole germaphobia.

"Nothing. Nothing for me." Xander smiled back. Attempting to make it look real. And not doing a real good job at it. "Just admiring the photos."

"Right. Bill and I go way back. Old Yalies, you know." Klein turned back to the rest of the group. They declined drinks as well. "So, what do you want to know about the statue?

"Well, we were just passing through, like I said, and caught sight of it." Robin said. "Seemed rather different from what one normally sees in a small town. That's an incredible stone. A ruby?"

"See a lot of small towns do you?" Klein chuckled, warmly. Xander felt a chill go down his spine. "The stone's not a ruby. We don't know exactly what it was, it was found by one of the early settlers of our fair town. It used to be in the town museum, but we, or rather, the former mayor decided to set it in the middle of the town square for all to enjoy."

"That's an incredible story." Robin replied. It having been there for quite a while without anything happening to it was raising some alarms. Pretty suspicious, even to someone that wasn't overtly suspicious of everything. "Is there anything more that you can tell us?"

"Well, the town was founded in 1866, as a stop on the way to California." The mayor sank back into his seat. "The town wasn't doing much traffic in the early days, but that all changed in the summer when Josiah St. Cloud found the crystal. He took it as a sign of a prosperous future, and set it on a display in the town bar. The town ballooned after that. Really flourished. Folks came, and fell in love with it. They just stayed. It really was and is paradise here."

"Wow." Andrew said. He had become quite engrossed by the story. The Old West was one of those mythical times that could take the heart and mind of any young American boy. Tales of gunfights with stoic heroes and mustache twirling villains. Of course, the rampant disease and racism prevalant in the era were usually brushed over.

The mayor looked at the enthusiastic young man. There weren't that many youngsters that listened to their elders anymore. That was one of the things he wanted to change, starting in his fair little community.

"I'm suprised nobody's tried to steal it." Xander said. "It is quite out in the open like that."

Mayor Klein frowned a bit. "Well, this is a safe little slice of heaven. Nobody here would ever do something like that. Heck, we ain't got but one policeman and most of the time he just sits and sleeps in his little jail."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Xander spoke again. He looked at the mayor, who didn't seem perturbed at the not friendly or unfriendly look from the one-eyed man. "If you have the time. I'm sure you have some important mayoral business to handle."

"Shucks." Klein said, good-naturedly. "I have all the time in the world. Though, I don't have much else on the origins of the crystal, if that's what you're interested in. The museum is your best bet."

"Well, we'll just mosey on over there then." Xander replied. "Maybe get a bite to eat at the diner we passed on our way in."

"Why, Luke's has the best burgers for miles." The mayor chuckled. "Course miles around here just means the desert. But don't you worry. I'll call ahead and make sure that the folks down at the museum know you're coming. I'm sure ole' Nick will want to be there to give you the tour personally. It's just up the street and down the first right. There's a big sign, you can't miss it."

"Well, thanks for your help." Robin stood up and held out his hand. The mayor got up as well and shook it. "We'll be sure to check it out."

The mayor motioned them out, and followed them. He stood with his secretary/receptionist as they watched the group leave.

Mindy looked over at the mayor. She dropped the smile she had when she finished waving goodbye. "Of course, we'll have to kill them."

The mayor smiled warmly. He still waved at the travelers walking back to their vehicle. "Don't you worry. The Goddess will have no need to be concerned about us possibly failing. The comer will have nothing to worry about when he gets here to meet us."

He gave one last wave to the departing group and headed back to his office.

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Robin waved back and got into the car. He waited for Xander to take the seat next to him as well as for the others to get settled.

"Wasn't that nice? He was so nice. " Andrew said from the back. He thought himself a good judge of character. One of the many skills he thought he possessed. "So much helpful information. And a great tip. Luke's. How lucky could we get?"

Robin ignored the watcher in the back. He was getting as tired as Xander was with the very annoying short man in the back. The only field watcher in the vehicle looked at the man next to him. "You know he's probably going to try to kill us right?"

Xander nodded. He looked at the watcher next to him. Glad that Robin wasn't that unobservant. "Yeah. Don't you wish we had just grabbed the crystal and run?"

Robin sighed. And nodded. "We still need to find out what's going on though."

Xander looked out the window. That wasn't something he wanted to do. But, it looked like whatever was happening in that down wouldn't be something good for them. He pulled out his cell phone. "Yeah. Guess we do need to do that."

The car started up and pulled a U-turn, headed back up the road towards the museum.

Paradise indeed.


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

**Chapter 33: Primary**

"So, that's how the town was founded." Nick concluded. It had been more than an hour since Xander and company had walked into the museum. An hour of lecture on how the town was formed, not the most interesting of topics, though the curator told it well. Xander didn't believe half of it. "Any questions?"

"What happened to the sheriff?" Andrew asked. He had an expectant quality to his eyes. He was eating up what the small museum's curator was dishing. Probably believed all of it was true.

"Well. That's another story." Nick replied. He grinned. The old museum curator hadn't had a time like this in a long time. Nobody really wanted to hear about the past anymore. The world could move so fast sometimes. And tradition just fell by the wayside. "What happened after he rode away is this."

That was Xander's cue to quietly move away. He took a quiet step back and walked to the other side of the one room museum. Despite, the large sign, there wasn't much in there. A few models of the town in the old days were in the center of the room, and some sepia toned pictures dotted the walls. The main exhibit was a timeline of the town's formation and growth. With particular emphasis on its startling growth around the time of the crystal's discovery. Or, at least that's what the narrator said.

He looked at one of the old pictures closely. It was a crowd gathered around an old bank. In the front were a sheriff and a few deputies leading some people away in chains. Of to the side was a man dressed oddly. Or rather different than the townsfolk. Dirty clothes. Clothes that had been lived in. It was a man he recognized. Not personally, since that would be impossible even for the times they lived in. No, it was an ancestor to one of the guys he had run with before. Eli Gould. A gunslinger in the Old West. One of the best hunters of his day as the stories went. It was said he rescued a young child from a nest of vampires armed only with his trusty knife. They made them tough as nails back in those days. Back when men were men, and nobody took a bath.

His secure cell phone rang. The others looked at him, while he took it out of pocket, a bit sheepishly. He grinned a bit in apology while backing up. Xander walked outside and flipped it open.

"What's up?" Xander looked around, making sure nobody was listening in. There wasn't anybody walking along the street. Nor cars going along it for that matter. While not that far away from the center of town, the street was certainly not frequently visited. Then again, given the size of the population, the same was likely true for all of the streets.

"The town's pretty dead." Curtis answered. "Only a few folks milling around outside. Real friendly types. Didn't seem to mind us sniffing around. Saw a single car come in to town. Grey four door. Honda Accord. New model, nothing distinguishing about it. Nondescript guy driving. White, dark brown-black hair. Nothing distinguishing about him as well. Looked like he was wearing a black suit. Drove like he knew the area though. That's it."

"Suspicious." Xander stated. He didn't really have to elaborate. The bad vibes were all around them. It could be picked up by the perceptive. Or the paranoid. Of course, in this bunch some were more perceptive than others. Or more paranoid.

"I know." Curtis agreed. Curtis was trained to notice things that seemed off. That sort of skill came in handy for the FBI agents. Even more so know. "Cindy checked out the crystal more thoroughly. There's nothing remotely mystical about it that she can sense. And no protective wards or spells either. Something's up here. No way anything that conspicuous wouldn't have been grabbed by now. Kids being kids and all that."

"Yeah." Xander replied. The more he was there the more uneasy he was getting. Like there was something in his mind just trying to get out. "I think the mayor's in on it. Along with this Nick, the curator guy."

"There doesn't seem to be much of a defense anywhere around though." The A-Team's second in command had down a fairly rigorous search of the area. Both by sight and through less mundane means. "And the townspeople aren't cloaked or simply disguised as human. Whatever is going on, this looks like a completely human operation."

"Yeah." Xander said, half-heartedly. "It's never as easy as guys in Edgar suits."

"Uh, right." Curtis paused, not getting the reference. "It means there's something big going on down here then. Your, uh Hellions, checked in. Nothing on the perimeter, and they've reached Point Alpha with the Epsilons. Buzzard's still flying, nothing up top. We'll keep checking, but I think we should do what we came here for, and then bug out."

"That's my opinion too." Xander concurred. He still had the bad feeling. It was something he couldn't shake off. Splinter in the mind's eye and all that. "Unfortunately, I'm supposed to be here as an observer. And you're here as support. None of us gets to call the shots."

"Pity." Curtis grumbled his agreement with his field commander. There had always been a chain of command for him. The FBI had its directors and assistant directors. Level 6 had Xander, then Lampkin, and Grainer. Most of them it served a logical and useful function. But, when the people in charge were less than competent, or at least less than desired, it became a problem. He wondered if they'd reached that point yet.

Xander chuckled. He felt the frustration that his second was putting out. The words didn't really need to be said. "Well, I suppose we could hope that things go downhill and I can start being an ass again."

Curtis smiled. Xander could almost feel that too. A moment of levity that happened to work. Those were getting rarer. "Let's hope things don't go that badly. If the shit hits the fan, I doubt all our backup scenarios are going to be a big help if we're left holding the bag on everything. And it'll still take time for them to reach us in any case."

"Robin wants to get the full story on this place first." Xander reported, filling the other side in on their current objectives. "I think it's important enough, though the primary's primary. So I want you guys to prep a snatch and scoot if things go sour."

"Confirmed." Special Agent Myers stated. It wasn't a good idea, though it might be the only way to accomplish their mission. Splitting forces like this wasn't a good idea and would leave the rest unprotected. Xander was all kinds of good, but even he had his limitations. Especially given the lack of arms that he could conceivably bring in posing as a civilian. Then there was the whole no supers, except for Leah, and even that wasn't much of a threat with the right application of force. "You want me to send Cindy to you?"

Xander shook his head. Pointlessly since nobody would see. "No, you might need her. Just make sure that Big Brother's on us as much as possible. I think we can keep it together till backup gets here if need be."

"You want me to have her set up a telepathic linkup?" Curtis said, not a stumble along the way. He was starting to get the hang of the paranormal. Especially its uses tactically.

"No." Xander said. "It might be picked up. Besides, she might need the energy later. Keep things mundane as much as possible. That's it for now. Let me know if anything changes."

"Confirmed." Curtis said, unhappily. Leaving his boss out there, essentially out in the cold, or heat in this case, was antithetical to his character. But, orders were orders. And he had his own team to look out for. "Watch yourself."

"Don't worry, I've got my eye out." Xander smirked, again pointlessly. He closed his phone and placed it back into his pocket. He took a deep breath. Life was imperfect. But, on the front lines, it could be downright unforgiving. Or so the movies say.

He walked back into the museum. The portly, rather elderly, curator was telling an enraptured Andrew more stories. To his credit, Nick could be quite the storyteller. But still, they were there for a reason. And it wasn't like the town was home to the world's largest ball of string or anything.

Xander walked up to the group. Apparently, Nick had just finished another story. He smiled his apologies as he rejoined them. He glanced at Robin and they locked eyes. All three of them. He inclined his head slightly to the left.

"That was great." Robin said, getting the message. "Very informative. Unfortunately, we've still got to get moving today. So, we're just going to get a bite to eat and then be on our way. But, you were very good."

Nick smiled widely. "Glad to be of service. Not too many folks come in anymore. All of the adults have already heard the stories, and well the kids don't go in for the whole town history thing anymore. To tell you the truth, I don't even have the place open but a couple of days a week. Not too much business you know. These small towns. Everyone wants to move to the big city. Too fast for me."

"I guess we were real lucky then. A refreshing change of pace for us." Xander said. "I don't suppose you could point us in the direction of Luke's?"

"No problem. Just go back down the road and swing around the square. It's on the side of City Hall. Where the old hardware store used to be. Sign's still there. Can't miss it." Nick replied.

"Thanks." Xander said. It was getting creepily familiar. Like the town was made form half accumulated memories of tv shows and clichés about small town life. It felt, artificial. And familiar.

He shook hands with the curator, as did the others. They walked out the door into the dwindling sunlight. Xander watched the light dim as the sun started to set. It was a bad thing. And a good thing. It would make theft easier to get away with. But, if something came after them, a fight would be a heck of a lot harder. No enhanced vision for him. It seemed like the part where senses improved when one was lost didn't work if you only lost half of one. A fight in this place was not something he relished the chance for.

They walked back to the car and got in. Xander looked behind him where Leah was buckling her seatbelt. "You get anything?"

Leah looked up at him. "Nothing really. He seemed as normal as the mayor. Nothing demon-y at all. Perfectly human."

"So what do you think it is?" Robin said, as he started the car. He pulled out and pulled a U-turn, heading towards the diner. "I get what you're saying. Something is really weird about this place."

"I don't know." Xander replied. His knowledge of the paranormal lay along more practical lines. The strengths and weaknesses of various demons and other supernatural beasties. Mixed into that was some folklore and his real world experience. Ancient lands and mythical creatures. This was something different.

"It could be some kind of masking spell. If you're so sure that something is wrong with this place." Andrew threw in, wanting to contribute. "Or maybe some type of phase-shifted dimensional transfer. But, I still think it's perfectly safe. Maybe we should just ask the mayor if we could have the stone. I mean, if we told him what was going on, he would probably just give it to us. People want to help out champions."

Xander looked at the other geek with disbelief. "Uh, phase shift? You seriously think that's a possibility? Cause I'm pretty sure that this isn't Star Trek. And that you're making that up."

"No. No." Andrew said, a bit hesitantly. Not wanted to get criticized again by the man that had rather recently threatened his life. Not that he had told anyone about that. "It's when dimensions cross and reality becomes blurred. The multiple dimensions converge and there's way too much information for observers to interpret. Perception is altered so we see what we think we should see. As opposed to what's there."

"Andrew. Dimensional tears leave other signs." Robin broke in. He had his own knowledge. He didn't get to be head field watcher by only being a fairly decent fighter. "Leah would have noticed if that was happening, right?"

Leah nodded. "As far as I can tell, what we're seeing is real. It just feels kind of fake."

"Luke's in a former hardware store." Xander said, repeating what he had heard earlier. "That seems like an odd type of coincidence. Along with the architecture which doesn't exactly look like it should be in the middle of the desert. Stars Hollow is right. This is bad. If we are seeing things that aren't really here. And if it's coming from our own minds instead of something that's projected. And if realities were converging, we'd be seeing a lot worse than a nice sunset."

Leah looked at him oddly after hearing the first bit of it. A bit of a question in her gaze. Andrew initially looked elated at the confirmation of his observations, then he just looked defeated at that last part. A cold dash of reality onto his overly complicated explanation.

Xander met Leah's look with a bit of defiance. To cover up embarrassment. "Yeah, well Vi likes the show. And that's not the main issue here."

Leah just smiled knowingly.

"Okay." Xander said, knowing it was a weak defense even if it was the truth. Kind of. "Back to business now. What's our next move, boss?"

Robin glanced at the man next to him. The title coming from him was a bit odd. Though it was likely meant jokingly. Or at least, only half seriously.

"We get something to eat." Robin said at last. He knew that Xander was pretty indepdent. And that the independent was only following his lead by choice. It was pretty clear that could change if Xander thought he was making a mistake. "Then we figure out what's going on here."

Xander glanced back at the driver. Playing the role of the second. Keeping things in perspective. "Remember why we're here. Accomplishing our main objective is our first concern. Unless the world's going to end, we don't need to solve this right now."

Robin furrowed his brow. "And if there are innocent people caught up in this? In danger? What if everyone's under some type of spell we can't detect. What then?"

Xander sighed and turned to take a longer look at their team leader. "Then we do what we can for them. If we can. But, we're looking at an end of the world scenario ourselves here. Hypotheticals aren't going to cut it."

"Xander." Leah said. "We can't just…"

"We can." Xander said, a bit sharply. He turned around to face the slayer. "And we will. Mission's the mission. And we've got a job to do. Mission priority is clear on this. Right here, this is the big leagues. And we can't get caught up in what we might want to do instead of what we have to do."

He turned back around and looked again at Robin. He had overstepped his bounds a little. He wasn't the lead on this op. A lifetime of being support and then suddenly thrust into a leadership role had taken getting used to. Going back also took some getting used to. It felt wrong not being in charge of things in the field. He'd have to stomach it though. For the time being anyway. "But, it's your call."

Robin nodded, and pulled up to a parking space in front of the diner. "We'll get something to eat. And then we'll check back with Xander's group on how to get to the crystal."

The group got out of the car and headed towards the entrance. Xander looked at the sign on top. His eye widened. The painted sign read, "Williams Hardware."

"What the hell?"


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

**Chapter 34: Breaker**

"I'm telling you, this is just like the show." Xander whispered. He looked over his shoulder. Besides his own people, there were only two others in the small diner besides the owner/cook. An older woman and a younger woman. Both fairly attractive with dark hair. Could have been mother and daughter. Thankfully, they didn't look like Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledsel. That would have freaked him out way too much if that had been the case. "The sign. The layout of the tables. The sign about not using cellphones. It's exactly like Gilmore Girls. Luke's diner. We are in Luke's freaking diner. We're not talking similar. It is exactly like what's in there. Like this is a set. Look at the guy. He's got a reversed baseball cap and stubble. And he's wearing flannel. And don't look at me like that. I just happen to remember the show. This can't be real."

Leah nodded in agreement, halfway at least. "It does seem to match the show rather well. But, it's not like diners don't look like this."

"It could be a coincidence." Robin stated. He knew that there was something weird, though he had never seen the series himself. But, what Xander was suggesting was over the top. Evil mayors that would try to kill them was one thing. A town that was increasingly similar to something that Xander saw in a tv show was something else. Even if Leah was starting to see it too. Shared delusion seemed more plausible than what Xander seemed to be getting at. "Or maybe it was just based on that diner in the tv show."

"Or something is playing with our heads." Xander responded hotly. He'd had his head messed with before, once or twice. Certainly not something that he wanted to go through again. "That's some pretty big mojo to be working on all of us. Breaking into our heads. Without our noticing. I've got defenses in there. It would take something pretty damn powerful to get through without triggering some alarm. You already agree that something bad is going on here. There's something else on the meanwhile."

"Without our noticing, except for you." Leah said, from her place next to Xander. A little defiant. She was Council after all. And Xander's constant "suggestions" weren't exactly ingratiating the slayer to him. Despite the rather well deserved, to her at least, dressing down of Andrew a little while ago. "I'm still not getting anything more than I had before. What are you thinking is happening?"

Xander looked at her. Recognizing the rather defensive look. The Council was pretty much the only home that the girls had now. No thanks to him. It was natural that they'd be more than a little protective. "No offense, but slayer sense isn't some all purpose full range sensor suite. It was never meant to be. There's more here than we're seeing. We should leave now. Get the package, get out. Before whatever is going on, decides not to be polite and turns its full attention onto us."

"I don't think we should be doing that." Robin responded. Not willing to let go of his earlier decision completely. He still planned on working on getting the crystal, but had wanted to stay there a bit to try to figure things out. Though he ultimately had to agree that Xander was right in what their main priority should be. This on the other hand, did change things. "If this is as bad as you truly say, then we need to get to the bottom of this now. The mayor may be evil, but that doesn't mean everyone here is."

Xander sighed. He had to handle things carefully if he ever wanted to work with these people again. "I suggest that we get what we came for. Our best move is to just block off the site and take it out later. Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

"And if there are any innocent people still here? Like I just said?" Robin frowned, and looked at Xander. Destroying a town, potentially costing the lives of hundreds of people. It wasn't what they got into the business to do.

Xander met his look. "We can do an astral recon once we're out of the zone. And if it's bad enough, we take it out. Mourn the casualties and move on. Like you said, if this is as bad as I say, then it might be our only hope. If something is rewriting reality based on what's in our heads, then it could spread, and decide to rewrite it into its own version of paradise. And we may not be able to stop it if we don't act now."

"But, we don't have any information to suggest that that's the case." Andrew put in, rather fretfully. "Nothing here matches anything in all of our texts. Besides what I said earlier, everything else would have left signs."

"Then it's something that hasn't been encountered and recorded before. It's just that much more dangerous. Which means we shouldn't get too involved in this considering we're coming at it with this little backup." Xander explained. Though technically they had much more help than what Robin thought they had. Unfortunately, his orders, or rather the orders that he was choosing to follow meant that they couldn't be all that close in their support function. "We should choose our fights."

The eyes in the sky would be useful, but only if things really went to hell down on the ground and they were able to get out. And while the newly fielded Epsilon soldiers had shown that they could hack it out in the fight, they still hadn't been tested in anything extremely hard. Carefully controlled field tests did not make a combat ready team make. This was supposed to be a simple field op to let them get their feet wet. Simple observation for the most part. And again, they were out there, not with them currently.

And like the super soldiers, the Hellions would only be useful if they got there in time. Vi, Colleen, Abby, and Monet. They'd ended up training together at times, though out of the watch of the Watchers. An extremely closeknit group now. Best friends. Xander's girls. They'd chosen the name themselves after Emma Frost's original group of students. Abby had seen it in one of his comic books and liked the name. Working together, he'd put them against damn near anything out there. Some of the toughest hunters he'd ever come across, male or female. Of course, if they didn't know what the target was, or if Xander and his people were even in danger, then they were effectively useless.

Still it was quite a bit of help, if they could get there in time.

"Little backup?" Robin questioned. He was still viewing things in terms of his own Council experience and his prior amateur career. While they now had more than one slayer, their watcher contigent was still rather lacking. Support personnel took time to recruit and train. Nontheless, the Council was now able to field some rather well-rounded teams. Slayers and witches and watchers. More formidable than the one girl in all the world. "This isn't our normal complement, but with your additional team, this is already more than what we send on most missions."

"Right." Xander said. It just went to show just how little the Council was actually dealing with. One slayer, with maybe a few watchers as backup. A witch or wizard. Maybe even a local specialist in whatever bogeyman they were dealing with. Hardly, a threat that would send chills down the spines of the Big Bads out there. Not when some of them could field armies in the hundreds. Or afford to hire mercenaries in those numbers. With Wolfram and Hart gone, the little fish seemed a whole lot bigger. "So you think we should just stay here and hope that whatever is doing this isn't really powerful? Cause I'm really wondering if you actually have a plan on having us not die when everything goes to hell. Frankly, I doubt it."

"We already know that the mayor is most likely planning on trying to kill us." Robin said, quietly. "But since there are no demons or vampires in this town, as Leah has confirmed, then there is not going to be a big threat. I think we can take care of it ourselves with help from your team. Or do you not trust that your own people can pull it off."

Xander's eye narrowed at the obvious challenge. He leaned in closer to the watcher across the table. Andrew backed away, recognizing the look in Xander's face. "Oh, I know that they can pull off what I tell them to. I also know that I wouldn't try lead them into a situation that I can't get them out off. I don't bring them along on fool's errands."

He leaned back. And smiled a rather shark like smile. A little something he had picked up. Useful on the weak willed that he needed to convince to do things his way. "Besides, you don't want to go there with me. I know what you tried to do back in Sunnydale. If you can't even kill one vampire by yourself, even if it was William the freakin' Bloody, how impressed do you think I'm going to be of you now? You got your ass kicked. Man, I faced down Angelus and walked away clean."

Robin glared. Evidently, one of the few that knew about his attempted dusting of Spike had told. That hadn't exactly been his shining moment. Xander facing the leader of a particularly nasty group of vampires was something he hadn't heard about. If Spike had been a pit bull, then Angelus had been the master. It could have been a boast, it wouldn't be the first time a hunter had inflated his accomplishments. But, he had the feeling that this wasn't one. "And yet, you're working with me now."

"Obviously. Besides, I was pretty freaked out at the time myself. So I'm cutting you some slack now." Xander stated. "After all, this isn't personal for you. There shouldn't be an emotional attachment here for you. So I figure you're less apt to make a mistake. Don't do anything to make me rethink that."

He remembered when Buffy had spilled the beans about what had happened. The obvious tension between Giles, Spike, Buffy, and Robin had hardly been unnoticed by the one who sees. Looking back at it, through his own personal issues with the vampires and his own experiences in practicality, he viewed it in much more objective terms. It turns out that Robin had wanted the pleasure of hurting Spike more than killing him. That type of personal attachment to an objective was what led to Robin failing. And ultimately something that couldn't be allowed in the field when there were objectives that were much more important than petty vengeance.

In truth, he'd gone after Spike himself when his relationship with Anya had rather officially and spectacularly and publicly blown up. He very well would have succeeded too, because of the chip most likely, except that he had stopped himself. That had been personal too. Of course, if he wanted to try it again, he'd go for the kill. Car bomb. Rocket launcher from a couple of hundred yards. Sniper rifle. No fair fights. No convoluted plans. Just cold hard death dealing. End of the day, going for the pain was just bad form and downright unprofessional.

The cook walked up to their table, carrying their orders. He placed them in front of the gathered four hunters without much flourish. He left without saying a word.

"I got to go to the bathroom." Xander stood up. He had made a decision. Not exactly the one he wanted to. It would have been so much easier if Robin had actually had a plan for what they were supposed to do. But, if the field watcher wasn't willing or able, then it was left to him. A subtle shifting of what his responsibilities as the second in command should be. Though, not of what his responsibilities were as the Level 6 Agent in Charge. "I'll be back."

Xander walked quickly to the bathroom on the side of the diner's bar area. He went into the men's room and made sure he was alone. After seeing that he was, he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. Technically, he knew that he should respect the chain of command. While not an official aspect of the Council's operations, it was ultimately something that was rather important for the functionality of a field team. It was why he had tolerated Robin's lead up till now.

But, going behind the man in charge's back was rather unprofessional. Then again, having mixed orders wasn't all that helpful either. Still it was breaking a rule. He knew what happened when the chain of command was not followed. Though, at the time he hadn't identified it as such. Voting Faith into leadership and the disruption it caused was not a good thing. And her short attempt to lead by committee had also been a failure. Though, she ultimately made the right choice by making decisions and having people follow through. Then again, that hadn't worked out well and Buffy had to save their collective butts. Of course, Buffy had played cowboy and had deprived the team of a fighter when she decided to walk away. He was doing something similar now. Complicated situations. Odd thing to think about right now, Xander thought.

His call out was answered on the second ring.

"Yeah?" Curtis asked, no preamble. Nobody just calling to chat would have used their secure cell phones.

"Get the crystal and get out." Xander said. "Make it look like its still there. I think Robin wants to stay in the area for a while. I'll try to get us out of here as soon as possible."

"Alright." Curtis replied. "You want me to send you any backup?"

"No." Xander said. "Keep your team together. Get them all out. I should be able to keep it together until we make our move. I'll call in the others to back us up. Get moving."

"Confirmed." Curtis hung up. His orders clear. While he had issues with Xander not having them there to back him up, it was ultimately his decision to make. Tactically, he may need the team to do the snatch and exfiltration out. It wasn't his place to question that decision. While he may bring up other suggestions, as he had just done, once the order came down, it was his duty follow it. Which he would.

Xander put the phone back into this pocket and pulled out a small ziplocked bag. He opened it and placed an earpiece into his right ear. A comlink was pulled out of the inside pocket of his jacket and set into place as well. He turned it on.

"Echo One, this is Snake Eye." Xander still wondered who exactly had assigned him that call sign. "Confirm. Tango Six Four."

"Confirmed Snake Eye." Came the voice over the link. It was Scott Ryan. "What are your orders?"

"Get the Hellions into town and under cover. I'll need you and the Epsilons to provide support from Point Delta. Make sure Buzzard's ready to make a strike." Xander replied. "Radio'll be on. Keep it silent unless something comes up."

"Yes, sir. They'll be in place in three minutes." Echo One confirmed. While it had taken some getting used to have to take orders from a civilian, he and his team had ultimately been able to come up with a workable arrangement. While Xander was a lot younger, and rather unorthodox, he was still a highly competent commander in his own right. Ryan retained the right to override Xander's commands if the need arose, given his placement militarily though less than official at this point, but he had never seen fit to have to do it.

"Out." Xander said.

"Out." Scott echoed.

Xander made sure that the earpiece would be as invisible as possible, and tucked the mouthpiece and wire into his pocket. It wouldn't take that long to pull it out if it came to it. He looked at himself in the mirror. It was strange. Here he was following one set of orders by disregarding another set. And then giving orders of his own that he expected to be carried out. He was sure he was breaking some kind of rules. Karmic if nothing else.

He walked out of the bar. Xander could see part of the street outside. He noticed a few people taking a walk. It wasn't that far past sundown, but still, there seemed to be a few too many people out at night. Especially since they didn't seem to be interested in coming in to the restaurant. Vaguely distressing. He retook his seat at the table and started eating. A cheeseburger and fries. He made sure to keep clean and to keep his hands from getting greasy.

Robin looked at him, a questioning look in his face. Xander looked back at him with a blank expression. Giving nothing up. They turned back to the food.

Xander waited a few minutes, though checking out the window every so often. He noticed the same people walk back and forth. And that the number was growing. He wondered if the others had noticed it and were just playing it cool. "I think we should be going."

The others looked at him, only about three quarters done with their food. They had been talking, not anything relating to the job, and Xander hadn't joined in.

Robin swallowed. "What is it?"

"I just think it's really time to go." Xander pulled out a wetnap from a pocket and opened it. He wiped his hands clean and dried them on his napkin. He took out his wallet and took out some money. More than enough to cover the bill and tip. He was about to stand up when the door opened. He watched as a man in a black suit walked in. He had dark hair and tanned skin. Somewhat nondescript, though fairly good looking in that modelish sort of way up close.

The man walked over and pulled up a chair to the end of their table. He sat down. With a smile, he reached over and took one of Xander's fries and popped it into his mouth. Chewing.

The others were somewhat shocked. Bad manners in such a nice town. Xander had a calculating look on his face. Trying to identify the man. He looked familiar. It took him a second to pull it up from his mind. He had to subtract a few years. A lifetime in fact.

"How's it going, Xander?" The man said. The smile still on his face. "Rocking the eye patch. Going for the whole Nick Fury or Snake Plissken thing? Very you. Well, it's certainly been a while I guess."

Xander looked at the interloper. Not returning the smile. Looked like something down there was trying to break him. Course, it was pissing him off more than anything else.

"Jesse."

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Author's Note: Ha. Cliffhanger. Take that people that want resolutions. Now to wait till 2008 for more. Shakes fist at Battlestar Galactica. C'mon people, more reviews please. They do make me write faster. I think. Thanks.


	36. Chapter Thirty Five

**Chapter 35: The Way We Were**

"C'mon, Xander." The now adult version of his once best male friend spoke. He smiled warmly again, trying to appear friendly. It came off a bit disturbing. Even for those that didn't know the man. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Xander looked at the face of the person he hadn't seen in a long time. In real life at least. Dreams and nightmare, on the other hand, were another story. "Guys. This is Jesse McNally. One of my best friends since grade school. Right up until the minute I killed him. Jesse. This is the guys."

Jesse grinned at the stunned expressions on the group's faces. All of them except Xander's. "I don't hold that against you. I hope you believe that."

"You look good." Xander stated. He turned his head to the side, though keeping his eye on the face from his past. "I don't suppose he's a vampire or something?"

"No." Leah said. She wondered exactly what was happening. Something that was going through the minds of nearly everyone there. It wasn't like people in their world couldn't come back from the dead. The most famous slayer out there had died twice after all. It had happened before in other cases as well, but still to see confirmation of that along with the person that killed him was disturbing. Especially the apparent lack of hard feelings. "As far as I can tell."

"He's the First." Andrew exclaimed, jumping up in his seat. He picked up his napkin and threw it at the man that was apparently their enemy. As if that would do something against him even if he was the First Evil.

Jesse caught it and dropped it onto the table. He was rather bemused by the way things were going. The short and hyper man must have missed the moving chair and the eaten fry. Ironic for someone that was supposed to be called a watcher. "Not quite."

"Sit down Andrew." Xander ordered, not bothering to move his gaze to the target of his frequent ire. He didn't show any emotions in his voice or on his face. On the inside though, he was gut shot. Vampires dusted, but they could be brought back. That thing with Darla running wild in Los Angeles some years ago had shown him that. Logically, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Still, it was hardly something one is ever prepared for. Sometimes the past didn't let go so easily. "You want to tell me what you're doing here? Or rather how you're here? I mean last time, you were a vampire. And I staked you."

"You're not going to win." Jesse said. It hurt him to have to come here like this. He had mixed feelings when he asked to come back to do this particular assignment. Partly, because it meant he would have to face the man that had killed him the first time around. Though to be fair, he did understand why it had happened. The truth of the matter was, he didn't want to hurt Xander. And he knew that this was the right thing to do. "Despite all this, you're still my friend. And I don't want to see you die. It doesn't have to go like this. Just give me what I want."

"Right." Xander replied curtly. "You going to tell me what the plan is? Or exactly why I should, what give up? Or fight on your side? You and me. Best buds. Like the old days?"

Jesse chuckled. "You know better than that Xander. Rule Number Seven. By all rights, I should just kill you all right now. I can do that now, you know. Don't even have to be a vampire anymore to do it. All I need to do is call my people in, and you all die. Even with what, a slayer, a watcher, and a wannabe wizard slash watcher at your side. There's no way you're going to get out of here alive with just them on your side. I'm giving you a way out, man. Just take it."

"What is this about?" Robin said. People from the past coming to confront them. Or at least facsimiles of them. They'd seen it in Sunnydale. It usually didn't mean anything good. "Why exactly are you here?"

"When I've captured my adversary don't tell him the plan." Andrew interrupted. Clearly excited about something. "Rule Number Seven of the Evil Overlord list. Paraphrased."

Barring Xander, they all turned to look at him. Xander sighed. Leave it to Andrew to know that and then say it. He'd read the list before. Jesse and him had found it humorous at the time. Wasn't so funny right now. "That mean you captured us then? So what, you playing the part of the villain? I thought you always wanted to be the good guy. Green Lantern."

Jesse turned to face the leaders of the team. Ignoring Xander's question and Andrew's unnecessary comment. "She's coming. She's coming and she's going to take over everything. And she doesn't want to have to kill each and every one of you to do it. It's rather inefficient that way. She will if she has to though. Cause this is worth it."

"You going to tell us who?" Robin asked, interested. It was more information on their ultimate target. So far, the information was next to nothing. Nearly anything would help.

"No." Jesse stood up and adjusted his suit. It wasn't what he was used to wearing. Of course, the last time he'd been walking around on Earth full time was when he was in high school. And when Xander still had a pair of eyes. "I'm not an idiot. I'm not here to give up the plot. All I'm here for, is to tell you that you're going to die here and now unless you walk away from this. Let this go, and just wait for the tide to come in. You can't stop it."

"And so they sent you." Xander smiled. He wondered if he should be flattered. "Am I really that important to your, mission? Cause I feel touched. Really I do."

"Xander. I've been part of this for quite a while. Longer than you think." Jesse was somewhat disappointed that his friend didn't believe him. Despite everything that had happened, he still did consider the now one-eyed grown up that. A stake through the heart couldn't break that bond.

"How long?" Xander questioned. Wondering if he had ever known the person facing them now. A small and annoying part of him thought that Jesse McNally had never been his friend. But logically, that was impossible. Stupid paranoia. "Don't tell me you were helping her amass troops when you were in diapers."

Jesse laughed at that. "Xander. Always, the joker. Man, I missed that."

"So how long?" Xander asked again. Not really interested in reminiscing about the past.

"You know what happens to you when you're a vampire and then get killed?" Jesse asked. He paused. Painful memories could do that. "It's not pleasant. You can say we go to the bad place. She brought me back pretty soon after I got taken out, by you. Apparently the souls of vampires killed over Hellmouths are easy enough to bring back. Better than recruiting in other places at the very least. She showed me a better way than demons and vampires running around killing people. And people having to do those evil things right back to them. I've seen some of the things you've had to do. I know you bro. We both know you aren't a hero. I want to show you that better way. This, this is my redemption. And it could be yours too. Just give me what I want."

"And that's it?" Xander was incredulous. He glanced behind him out the window. It was darker, but he could tell that the group outside was larger. If they were smart their vehicle had been disabled. Probably not disturbed much after that since they wouldn't know if it had been rigged. "You're the good guys? I'm Sinestro now? And we're supposed to just sit back and let you do the voodoo that you're planning on doing?"

"Essentially, yeah." Jesse confirmed. "Remember how things used to be? Remember when we were kids and everything was just superheroes and villains. It used to be so simple in those days. Don't you want that back? Back like how things used to be? You're on the wrong side of things. Those powers up there watching over things here? They aren't on your side, Xander. I know the things you might have seen about what we do. The sacrifice. It's unpleasant. But, sometimes sacrifices are necessary."

He sighed and ran a hand through his now wavy hair. "Man, you more than most people should know about that. It's worth it to beat them. It's the same justification that you use."

Xander clenched his jaw. Trying to keep everything inside. Trying not to react to what his best friend was telling him. Hard to move away from that. "You're not really here are you? This place. This whole place is fake. And so are you. You're all from my head. Just images. Telling me and showing me anything to get me to stop. This crosses a line you know. You really shouldn't have done it this way."

Jesse sighed. "The town's fake. It's a psychic thing that I don't even understand, or rather I'm not going to tell you. Even wizards and slayers can't tell the difference in any real and definite way. Can't even tell how it occurs. You weren't supposed to pick up on it, but maybe if you had seen more stuff with small towns than just Gilmore Girls, it wouldn't have seemed so contrived. But, I'm really here. This isn't a trick. I'm sorry to have to be the one to put you through this."

"Really." Xander said coldly. As far as he could tell, Jesse was telling him the truth. He'd known the guy long enough to be able to see when he was lying. Still, he couldn't quite bear the thought Jesse was really here. And on the side opposite the angels. As far as he knew. "I'm supposed to believe that you being here, now, right when I'm here, is just a coincidence. That's hardly convincing me. I mean, c'mon, what's more reasonable? You being here right now? Or some shapeshifter in a Jesse suit talking to me? Or some illusion spell?"

"I know." Jesse replied, oddly hurt by the tone. And by not being believed. He understood it though. He looked up at the ceiling of the diner. "Bring it down. Just the room and everything in it."

The table seemed to shimmer for a second. As did the building and everything they could see. It solidified again, though the image was different. The table was made of hard steel. Blackened, as were the walls. The windows disappeared. In fact, the whole building looked different. It was made of stone. Odd glyphs and other symbols lined most of the walls. Like the whole place was out of some fantasy movie now. Undisturbed, until now. The townspeople inside disappeared as well. The travelers stayed. Including Jesse. Apparently, it meant that he was real.

"I'm sorry Xander." Jesse said, sympathy in his voice. He felt for the guy, he really did. "I really am real. But you have to know. This is what I do now. I'm a herald. Amongst other things. I knew you were involved. After all the things you've been doing it wasn't hard to see that you were running around playing hero. We have our own oracles. I knew that you would be tracking this, thing, down. So I just made sure I'd be involved, and therefore more likely to confront you. I thought it'd be better this way. Nobody else has to die. Not really anyway. Just as long as you get all your people to stop."

"You thought wrong, Silver Surfer." Xander said. "You think this is going to make me less willing to kill you? Again. Cause right now, all it's doing is making me really want to do more than stake you in the heart. A kid for Christ's sake. Man, what the hell? That isn't you."

"I want the crystal." Jesse ignored the more than blatant threat. And the bit of questioning. "I know your people took it. I want it back. You already know what we're willing to do."

Robin looked at Xander. He hadn't given his orders to take the crystal. That had not yet been discussed. Yet, Xander had unilaterally decided to go after it. More than that, he hadn't seen fit to inform any of them, even afterwards. Clearly the other man was doing his own thing on the side. Not being a part of his team. It hadn't been fully unexpected, but still a bit troubling. It made him wonder what other secrets the man was hiding. It was obvious that they had barely scratched the surface.

"Yeah." Xander said. "Not going to happen. By now, it's long gone. And you really should have known better. Out in the open? C'mon, that's weak. Even for you."

"Yeah, well." Jesse looked sheepish. "Sometimes things can't always be as we want them. Still, I want the crystal."

"It should have been kept inside. Out of the way. You had to have it out here." Xander said, ignoring his "friend." Concentrating instead on the facts and suppositions that were filling his head. Stream of consciousness style. "In the light. Or the fact that there is a bit more ambient magical energy here than in most places, according to the files. It's a collector. An energy source. For something you need. And well protected given your friends back there. With a psychic town for cover. Which means there probably are normal people here. Just in case official types come into town asking official questions. IRS and such."

"Very good." Jesse said. Rather impressed by the line of reasoning that Xander had just laid out. Hardly the sort of the thing the chronic underachiever used to do. "You really are much smarter than you think."

"Yeah. Well that's my super power." Xander replied. He felt that the group was still outside, waiting to be ordered in to rend them limb from limb. Still in disguise. He wondered what form they really had. Probably had glowing eyes. Thick, heavily muscled bodies. Still, the group he had seen wouldn't even account for half of the town's population. And he didn't see any kids. He wondered how many innocent bystanders there were in the town. He walked to the bar. Though it was made of dark steel as the tables were. He reached behind his back and pulled out his handgun. He pointed it at the man in the suit. "Well, I think that's our cue to get out of here. Let's go."

Jesse grinned. Unperturbed. "C'mon. They're not going to let you walk away. In the end, I'm expendable. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to die, again. But, to bring this back to us, it's worth it. It's not like you really have any super powers. You're normal. Less than even, what with your handicap. What do you think you could possibly accomplish?"

Xander eye narrowed. He pulled a pair of cuffs from a pocket in his coat, the gun didn't waver. He had brought the jacket with him from the car, it held quite a bit of equipment. And hid some too. Not a trench that was all the rage with hunters, that sort of thing was just tacky now days, but still a jacket was still something useful. At the time he had thought it a bit conspicuous, but a necessary precaution. On the other hand, desert nights could get mighty cold. He set the cuffs on the table. "Leah. Hands behind his back. Be careful. Don't forget to search him. And check the crotch."

"Xander." Robin broke in. "What do you think you're doing?"

Xander didn't spare a look. "I'm taking command. Sorry, Robin, but training's over. And I can't let you muck this one up by getting sidetracked."

"You can't…" Robin started to say.

"I can, and I am." Xander said softly. He didn't want to do this. But, things were getting out of hand. "I really am sorry. You're a good man, and could make a good field commander some day, but you need to sort out your priorities. Leah. Do it."

The slayer stood up and looked at Robin. He nodded at her, slowly. The red headed slayer picked up the cuffs. She carefully bound Jesse's hands, making sure to stay wary in case he tried anything. She didn't notice anything supernatural from him, but if he had come back from the dead, he may have other unique characteristics that could be dangerous. Like was said before, Slayer Sense couldn't detect everything. She patted him down thoroughly, making sure he didn't have any hidden weapons on him. There was nothing.

"Xander." Jesse was still confident despite now being a prisoner. "They're still going to kill you. Just give me the crystal, and you can all leave. Try again another day if you really want to. Man, I really don't want to see you die. It's over."

"You're right about that. Now get down on the ground. On your stomach." Xander said. Jesse did nothing. Just stood there, exuding confidence. He walked over and kicked the back of Jesse's right knee. He pushed him the rest of the way down. Kneeling on the back of his neck, gun pointed at his captive's head. Xander looked at Robin. "Toss me some napkins."

Robin looked at him. Xander looked back. After a moment, the head field watcher picked up the napkins and tossed them at the man that was now in charge. Xander put the gun back into place in the small holster at the small of his back and twisted Jesse's head to the side, stuffing the napkins into his mouth. He removed Jesse's belt and wrapped it around his mouth, binding it tight. He took out his gun again and stood up. He hoped the bit about calling in the guys outside and the vocal command about the illusion "spell" meant that there wasn't a psychic link. That would be troublesome. "Stay there and don't do anything stupid. You know I'll do it again if I have to."

Xander stood up and pulled out his radio. He held it to his mouth. Not exactly what he wanted to do, but he couldn't very well go to the bathroom again. He looked at Robin; one more secret revealed. "Echo One. This is Snake Eye. I need fire support to the west, just outside of my current position along an exit route. Neutralizing fire. Surgical strike. Give me an ETA."

"Roger that." There was a moment as the order was relayed. The voice came the voice in his com link. "ETA one minute. Buzzard's on its way."

"Confirmed. Give me an out." Xander said over his link. He could hear the thrumming of blades already. They'd be there pretty quickly and set up not too long after that. He wasn't all that worried about a strike so close to his own location. The GPS transponder in his radio setup meant that the fire would be directed at the target and that care would be taken to avoid the building he was in. His people were extremely well trained.

"Point Baker." The voice said. "Car's ready and untouched. Hellions are in along the path. Blazer's close in and covering. Nailer has a clear field of fire."

"Confirmed. Out." Xander said as he lowered his mike, clipping it to his collar. He was still looking at Robin. "I'd get ready to run if I was you. It's going to get real loud. Then real quiet. Be ready to run then."

"Xander. What is this?" Robin said, surprised by Xander's actions. The securing of the prisoner wasn't all that unexpected, but what Xander was doing now, was.

"Car's either already gone, or it's about to get gone, so we're going to have to foot it to one of my backup plans." Xander ignored Robin's question. He looked at all of them now, making sure they would listen and obey. "We go up the alley, and just run as far as we can up the street to the north. It's going to be about five blocks. There'll be a white van. That's our target. But, there's still going to be trouble I reckon, so stay alert."

"What did you just do?" Robin asked. He wanted more, but given the situation, he wasn't likely to get it at the current time.

"What I'm good at." Xander knelt down, making sure that Jesse was still secure. "I'd get down if I was you."

The others reluctantly followed his lead. Three seconds.

Xander looked at Robin.

"Wait for it."

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Author's Note: And that's the confrontation with Jesse. For now at least. Euphemism, Xander is a bit, Xander-stu, though to be honest, I'm having trouble coming up with a strict definition on that. I mean sure, he's good at what he does, and he gets the girl, but what exactly about that defines it as Xander-Stu? I can see the rather large deal of angst, that I hope doesn't come off as too overbearing. He comes back in pretty on top of things in the eyes of many, but in reality he's pretty much the government's bitch right now. And he knows it. Also, I thought I had described that he is hardly perfect. He doesn't dwell on his mistakes though, and does seek to make sure he doesn't do the same ones over and over again. Though his main issues are personal, since by this time most of the canon characters should be pretty combat proficient. I'm not saying he's not Xander-stu, but it makes me wonder if there is a strict definition, wikipedia isn't helping much on their Mary-Sue page. In some ways, I'm influenced by The Unit, the tv show. You have these extremely well trained and competent soldiers, and their main flaws are personal problems. Communication, intimacy, always being on the job, etc. Are they also Mary-Sue? I think it's an interesting issue. And Bolo, the Clinton picture will come up again. Though I'm not going to say yet in what fashion. Thanks for the reviews. Hope to see more of them.


	37. Chapter Thirty Six

**Chapter 36: Exit Strategy**

They heard and felt the action outside. The gunshots came fast and hard. None hit the building, a testament to the skill of the pilot and copilot/gunner of the Apache helicopter that was currently laying down fire to clear the path for the trapped group of demon hunters inside. Xander idly wondered what the 30mm cannon was doing do the bastards outside. Probably wouldn't be that long till he saw.

The gunfire tapered off, but the vibrations of the chopper's struggle against gravity could still be felt and heard. Xander looked at Robin and the rest of his crew. He nodded, and signaled Robin to the door to be ready to move. Xander picked Jesse up and passed him to Leah. Carrying the only firearm, he was their best shot at taking out anything still alive. And Leah, the only superpowered one in the group was the best shot at keeping Jesse under control.

Xander made sure Leah had the prisoner secure while he made his way to the door. He held his gun at the ready and waited for the call.

"Clear." A voice came over the radio link. "Make your move."

"Confirmed." Xander acknowledged. He looked at Robin. "Open the door. Slow."

Xander moved to the side, gun up as Robin opened the door carefully. Xander saw dead bodies in light of the moon and the few streetlights. They still looked human. Just dead civilians lying out on the street. Mothers. Fathers. Brothers. Sisters. Collateral damage. A massacre. He knew better though.

"Let's go." Xander said. He noticed as the chopper broke off and gained altitude to provide a better of view of the action on the ground. He looked at his people. "They're not going to be held back because of that for long. And Buzzard's not going to be able to provide cover if we have to mix it up."

He took the point, jogging up the street at a brisk pace. He made sure to sweep the area, not wanting to get surprised. He hoped that anybody innocent would know enough to stay inside and out of the way after the attack helicopter had just shot up a chunk of the town's populace. He figured that anybody not innocent would be coming to get them, hopefully with enough care to give them enough time to get to their vehicle and get out of town. He'd have to send in people later to clear it though. That'd have to wait.

Leah, pushing Jesse in front, followed. She had a knife in her hand; slayers tended to try to stay armed. Fighter through and through. Andrew came next, whitefaced. He was scared, but he was still following. That was enough for now. Robin took up the rearguard. He had armed himself with a dagger from the car when they had went into the diner, but that wouldn't account to much if they faced even a relatively small number of attackers. Even normal ones in sufficient number would take them. Bodies thrown out at them would tire them out, even a slayer couldn't stand against wave after wave. And all they needed was to get lucky once. The few blocks or so was going to be one long walk.

The small two story buildings that lined the street didn't help matters. Not highrises, but they still held windows for easy lines of fire. The storefronts and the apartments above. This portion was getting into the seedy part of town, relatively speaking. Not exactly something Xander wanted to deal with, unfortunately Sniper Alley was the only clear way through. There was nobody on the street, but that didn't really mean anything. He only hoped that his own support would be able to help deal with matters if they became complicated. Or that their attackers weren't intelligent to be packing any ranged weapons. Course, things worked differently in the real world. Sunnydale, in many ways, had been a picnic to the things that were out here now. Out here, the demons that served as the street level soldiers were sometimes trained as them. Different weaponry, different techniques, but a lot better than the average wageslave turned vampire. Or local thug hired for cheap.

Xander hadn't made it halfway before he saw a few curtains move. It could have been nothing. Curious people wondering what the hell had happened in town. He wasn't so sure. He motioned his followers to take cover. He knelt beside a van parked along the street. He just hoped that nobody up there was armed with automatic rifles. Or grenades. This wasn't Africa after all. That would definitely not make for a nice night.

Xander held his com link closer to his mouth. He spoke softly. "Blazer, I have movement on the second floor windows along the path. Am I clear?"

"Undetermined." Came the quiet reply. Xander wasn't sure exactly where Blazer was, but he knew that he would be close. He heard a rustle of cloth. "Wait. I see a gun and a demon. Hostiles. More are closing in from behind. You're going to have to make a run for it. Hellions will cover the rear, we'll take the ones in front. Ten seconds till we're ready."

"Confirmed. Give me the word." Xander said quickly and equally quietly. Things weren't turning out to well for them now. The look of the rest of the way didn't help. There was a bend in the road ahead and he couldn't see their destination. It was mostly straight, just enough to throw his line of sight. It wasn't in the maps before. It must have been a recent change, some kinks the wacky psychic town was putting in their way. He just hoped that the rather newly improved soldiers were up to the task. The slayers behind could take care of themselves. But, with only two other guns up front, they were still facing a lot of problems.

Xander rose to a crouch and made his way behind cover to wear the others had holed up. "We're going to have to make a run for it. There's going to gunfire coming up on us, and there'll be attackers behind. We need to stay behind cover and make our way to the car about two and half blocks up. It might be more from the look of things. White van."

Robin nodded. He didn't want to die, and arguing at this point would just about guarantee it. He did wonder exactly how much Xander was hiding. A mercenary bringing in an attack helicopter to take out a target spoke of more than just rich men with vengeance in their hearts. He wondered exactly what connections Xander had with the military. Riley Finn may conceivably do a sideline in weapons, but this was something else. "Alright. We'll do this your way. For now."

"Get ready." Xander said. He waited for the signal to start the end run. He didn't have to wait long.

"Go." Blazer stated. Still in a quiet voice. The scout must be placed near the enemy. Though he was one of those guys that did talk softly. And tended to carry a large stick.

"Roger." Xander replied. He looked at the people around him. "Let's go."

He started running up the street as fast as he could while still behind cover. He didn't spare a glance behind. He trusted that Robin and the rest wouldn't be stupid enough to not listen to him now. And he trusted that his own people would take care of their backsides.

He heard the pings of bullet ricochets as they hit the cars that were in front of them. Small arms from the sounds of it. A few rifles too. Civilian arms. Good thing too. Xander didn't think too highly of their chances if they came across anything of a higher caliber. He heard gunshots in response. Semi-automatic. That probably meant that it was from an M25 sniper rifle.

It was his own sniper firing as fast as he could. Accurately too. From the time between hits and the sound, Xander figured Nailer must have been at least 800 yards out. Those super soldier mods had down wonders for Bill Naslund's accuracy. And his time between shots too. The man was the hammer of God now. He heard the death gurgle of a man hit in the throat and saw the dead body fall out the window, hitting the ground with a thud. It was dark, but he could see the heavily armored form. Reptilian scale or something similar glinted the ambient light. The body was rather large, but still humanoid. Good choice if one wanted to use human weaponry. The lack of disguise meant that they were playing for keeps. The demons were probably stronger in their natural form. Xander didn't recognize the species, but made a note to have one of the experts run a Triple D search to see if they could identify it. Certain types of villains tended to use the certain types of minions. Vampires using lesser vampires. The First had its bringers. Whoever She was, may have a preference that could help them identify who She was.

That thought only took a second as he turned his attention on the street ahead of him. He could see the white van that was their destination. It was a lot farther than the two blocks or less he should have had left. He also saw the gathered group of demons that had taken cover behind parked cars between them and their way out. Xander slowed and stopped. He motioned for the others to get to him and stay down.

"Driver. There is a large group between us and the exit. Do you have a shot?" Xander called in to Naslund's spotter.

"Negative. No line of sight from our current location. Do you want us to move positions?" Driver called back. He had noticed the change soon after his partner had started firing. The maps and their previous recon hadn't revealed the blind spot, it had just suddenly appeared. He'd been on the group channel. He had heard the explanation, even if he hadn't fully understood it.

Xander looked behind him. He could see fallen bodies of the demons that had tried to come up behind him. He saw the quick movements of a fireteam operating to take out a large contingent of demons behind him. It was the Hellions. Vi and Colleen acted as riflemen. Or rather riflewomen. Monet carried a SAW, while Abby was the team leader. They had moved in quick and quietly behind them, their gunfire masked by the gunfire of their enemies and of the sniper. He saw Vi, identified by her short red hair, as she spun to the side and snapped off a few quick shots at the demons that tried to flank them. The rear was covered at the very least. Xander turned back around. He noticed that none of the group he was with had seen any of it. They were more focused on the army in the front of them.

"No. There's no time." Xander said. He could see that demons, of the same snaky nature as the one that had been shot in the throat were getting antsy. They were getting ready to take a chance and rush them. Given what they had seen of the counter sniper that Xander had employed, it didn't give many of them good odds of surviving the night. Still, it wasn't completely suicide since their fifty or so in number would be too many for even the upgraded human. At least it would have been if the sniper had a line of fire. Of course, he didn't. They didn't know that part. Yet.

"Blazer. How close are you?" Xander said, after a moment's thought. Trying to come up with the best way to utilize his additional assets. They were starting to justify the risks. Three of the early subjects had died. Five were permanently crippled. Another two had cancer, though they were getting treatment for it. Experimental gene therapy and experimental magic was just that. And experimental meant mistakes and sacrifice. The volunteers had sacrificed for their country. It was the least he could do to try to make up for that now.

"Close enough." Isaiah replied quietly. He was currently on top of one of the buildings nearly on top of the gathered force that was bent on stopping Xander from leaving. His speed and stealth abilities had allowed him to get there undetected. He had a submachine gun with him, but given the rather limited supplies he was carrying, he wouldn't be all that useful if he just started shooting. "What do you need?"

"A distraction. I need you to take out as many as you can, and then lead as many away as possible." Xander said. He looked at the force he was facing again. They were even more agitated. He fired off a few shots from his handgun to make them keep their heads down. The lack of sniper fire would surely become noticeable to them soon.

"Roger that." Isaiah crept closer to the edge of the two story building he was on. He peeked over the side. He saw that the force was split, taking cover on the sidewalks lining the two lane street. He pulled out two handguns from holsters on his hips. Normally, one was taught never to fire in tandem. Wanked out crap from movies that too many thought was an accurate depiction of warfare. Tactics that never worked in real life. Of course, that common wisdom didn't take into account how his body had been altered. It had taken some effort to work out exactly what those new abilities were, but one of the things he had discovered was that an improvement to his spatial awareness allowed him dual wield firearms as if he was one of Chow-Yun Fat's numerous characters. Though Cleric John Preston was apparently a better comparison, according to Xander at least. He didn't get it himself.

Isaiah set the guns on the ground next to him. He plucked two grenades from his vest. He pulled the pins and tossed them into the two groups of enemies. Before they landed he had his guns in his hands. Set to make his move. "Get ready for it."

They struck the ground and exploded as Isaiah, designated Blazer for the current operation, leapt off of the building and into the nearest group of demons. The density shifts in his musculature and skeletal structure meant that he didn't break or sprain anything. The grenades had exploded in the midst of both groups, throwing them into chaos. They never noticed the human that had just dropped in on them.

They did when he started firing. Isaiah's arms were nearly a blur as he aimed and fire. Or rather, he just pointed at his targets and pulled the targets. It happened in seconds. Arms crossing back and forth, moving and flashing. Dodging and spinning to avoid desperate counterattacks and to stay mixed within the group to prevent anyone from taking a shot at him.

Death at every spot of light from his guns. Thirty corpses lay on the ground. Small holes blown into their foreheads. Isaiah had counted his shots and started running as soon as the last shot had been fired. He ran back, dropping the guns in his hand and pulling the submachine from a quick release harness from his back. He ran down the street extremely quickly past Xander's group firing behind him taking out what he could, making the others follow him as well. Most of the remaining demons ran after him. He cut right at the first block, leading his enemies down it.

He ran faster as he reached the next block and turned right again. He took off at his top speed to lose them. At nearly thirty five miles an hour, he could really move when he needed to. It wasn't as fast as a slayer, and he couldn't keep it up as long as they could, but it was certainly surprising for the group chasing after him. He was leading them out and into another ambush. Plans within plans. Contingencies within contingencies for nearly any eventuality.

After Xander had made sure that all of the demons that would follow Blazer had down so, he made his way forward shooting at the still surprised demons. There were only a couple left and he was able to take them all down quickly. He made sure the way was clear, and then motioned the group forward. "C'mon. It's time to get out of here."

A large black scaled demon broke through a window in the building next to their car. It landed in a crouch right in front of the group. It stood nearly seven feet tall. It wore steel armor in plates upon its thick chest. Reaching, back the demon armed itself with two large swords. The streetlights glinted of the razor sharp edges.

Xander aimed and fired as fast as he could. Three shots. Two of them hit it in the head. It didn't drop. Instead, the demon just seemed to get angry. Xander eye widened. "Aw crap."

It let off a large roar and ran quickly at Xander. It hit him hard driving the hunter to the ground. A kick sent him skidding to the curb clutching his ribs. It leaped over to him, leaning down. The demon grinned widely.

"You shouldn't have taken the crystal." The demon growled, smiling. "And you shouldn't have killed my citizens."

Xander coughed trying to back up, hitting the curb. He thought about going for the knife strapped to his leg, but he knew he couldn't get to it without dying. He recognized that disturbing smile. He spoke, trying to buy time. "Mayor Klein. Tell me, you really know Bill Clinton? Or was that as fake as this town."

The demon grin widened. Its teeth were wickedly sharp. The smile did nothing to make it seem friendlier. "Old Yalies. We go way back."

Xander smirked, trying to think of a way out. He heard movement off to his left. He hoped it was the others, or rather Leah, attempting a rescue. "I guess the Liberals really are trying to destroy America then."

"More than you know." The mayor said. Its right arm pulled back, ready for an attack that would end the annoying little one-eyed man in front of him. It wouldn't bring back the crystal, but it would be a start.

Leah shoved her prisoner to Robin and ran towards the demon before it could strike. The demonic mayor heard it, turned and whipped out its swords before the slayer could attack. She ducked under its slashes. She returned the favor with a cut from her knife, but it did nothing more than glance off thick scale and steel. The demon took a step back then drove itself forward at the slayer. It hit her hard and she dropped her knife. She fell to the ground and rolled back trying to gain space. She was still a bit stunned.

The demon roared again and moved forward. Its previous prey was now forgotten for the rather impetuous women that had tried to cut it with such a puny weapon. It approached the slayer that had tried to sneak attack and was about to drive its swords down upon the fallen slayer when its head snapped back hard. It fell to its knees then and then onto its back.

The gunshot echoed down the alley. The only ones left alive in that section turned to see who had fired the shot. About three or four long blocks away they saw a redhead lower an assault rifle. It was Vi. They all watched as the four slayers, three of which shouldn't have been there according to the Council, moved back into position, still covering their area. Guarding the rear.

Xander coughed again as he regained his feet. He triggered his com link. "Frost, we're clear. Get to the extraction point. We'll get out on our own."

"On our way." Abby said into her own radio. The team moved off.

He looked at his own group, making sure that Jesse was still there. It would be a lot of wasted effort if their prisoner had gotten away. Even if they had gotten the crystal out safely. Sometimes information could be more useful.

He looked at the body of the fallen mayor. It looked different than the others. Bigger and more heavily built than the others. A leader of some sort most likely. A bulge appeared in its stomach, pressing against its plate armor. A long tentacle broke through with great strength, breaking through steel with a loud ripping noise and widened and flattened into a rough disc. It covered the body with a layer of pulsating red organic matter. And then it started to glow.

Xander made his way forward, picking up his dropped weapon. Leah picked up her knife as well. He reloaded his weapon and fired a few shots into the glow. The bullets had no effect, as if swallowed by the glow. The circle of organic matter seemed to expand slightly.

"Snake Eye. This is Zebra." A female voice came over the radio. Cindy. "I'm picking up a high energy source that just formed. A portal."

Xander looked at the malevolently glowing circle. It appeared to grow about half an inch in diameter. "Yeah. I think I see it. I'm thinking this isn't a good thing."

"No. With the energy it's putting off, it's linked to somewhere far away. Can you close it?" Zebra responded. A portal forming after the battle couldn't be a good thing. It could have been some type of deadman's switch to send in reinforcements if the first wave had been stopped.

"Leah. Throw your knife at it. As hard as you can." Xander looked at the slayer. She returned the look. After a moment she threw the knife as hard as she could straight into center of the pit. It just flared and disappeared. Nothing else happened. He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting, but had hoped that the thrown knife might have somehow gotten through. He had noticed that it had some engravings on it, likely slightly enchanted. Evidently not that useful. Xander activated his com again. "Nothing seems to work."

"I'm picking up another energy field." Zebra said, a grimace clearly audible in her voice. "And another. I think they're trying to bring something through to come after us."

"Damn it." Xander swore under his breath. This was not turning out well at all. "I think we're going to have to burn it out. Get it prepped."

"X…Snake Eye. Are you sure?" Came the response.

Xander clenched his jaw. It was no time to be getting sentimental. "Get everyone out and back. Echo One, call Wild Fire. I need setup for a Baker Delta Zulu out to a quarter mile outside the city limits. Keep a close watch and make sure the border isn't crossed. Others might try to get out of here."

"Confirm Baker Delta Zulu, Snake Eye." Echo One said, wanting to be sure.

"Confirmed. Get it done." Xander stated unemotionally.

"Roger that." Echo One said, unemotionally.

Xander moved towards the car, still checking the area. It was clear and they were unmolested the rest of the way towards the vehicle.

"What was that?" Leah asked as they got to the vehicle they were looking for. Robin got into the driver's seat, while Andrew got into the passenger seat. Leah pushed Jesse into the back, Xander followed them reloading his weapon. "Why was Vi here? And that guy? He moved as fast as we could."

Xander pushed Jesse onto his stomach as soon as they all got in. "Later. We got to get out of here now. Robin, let's go. Just keep following the road up. It dead ends into the desert. Just keep going. It'll lead out. I hope. Extraction point's about a mile down."

Robin started the car and pulled out quickly. He stomped on the gas, trying to put as much distance as he could between them and the town.

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Author's Note: Some quick notes. It'll be more in depth on the profile. Or you can use the forum for anything general.  
Bolo: There is some similarity to Jasmine. However, I think there are some key differences. For one thing, she had to basically mind control people into thinking she's offering them paradise. For the Big Bad set up here, she doesn't have to do that. Her followers genuinely believe that they're doing the right thing. And not all of them are demons. It's not explicitly said even, that it wasn't necessarily true either.

Euphemism: I get what you're saying, and yeah Xander is pretty Xander-stu. Though to be honest, I think that skill sets were developed extremely poorly in the show. I mean, if you look at The Zeppo and then the Initiative, watch how Xander fights. As the series progressed his fighting abilities should progress, not regress. That is two isolated incidents, but it points to drama/comedy sometimes overriding reality in the series. The Zeppo is "his" episode, so he's portrayed as a decent fighter and able to think on his feet using his environment to aid in his battles. In the Initiative, the fight is played for humor, so he comes off fairly pitiful. And if you look at Dirty Girls, Xander suddenly is a fairly accomplished archer and able to hit a forearm, it may even have been moving at the time, from a fair bit away. Does he even use a bow prior to that? To try that as opposed to a body shot or a headshot makes me think he's pretty secure in his archery. But, I don't recall that being established prior.

Thanks for the reviews.


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven

**Chapter 37: Paradise Lost**

Author's Note: May want to read the last couple of paragraphs in the last chapter. I made a mistake in what was said which is now fixed. And the story is going to start getting darker.

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"This is Snake Eye." Xander said over his radio. He looked behind him, at the town receding in view. It wasn't getting that much smaller, since they weren't going that far. He could see the lights in the darkness. Some from the streetlights and other sources in town, the others were flickering. The flashes of gunfire that were there to make sure that nothing made it out of town alive to come after them. "I'm coming in."

The vehicle passed a few men standing a couple of hundred yards in front of a large trailer. The guards were set behind sandbags, holding large rifles at the ready. There were a few jeeps and other assorted vehicles. Some crates and boxes lay scattered on the sands of the desert as well. Xander recognized a few of the men. He looked at the driver. "Robin, park next to the trailer."

Robin did so, pulling the car to a stop with a skid. He looked at the large trailer that he was parked next too. He wondered what it was for. "Is there something you want to tell us about Xander?"

"Want?" Xander questioned. He unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. "No. Have to? Yes. But, not now."

"When then?" Robin replied, irritated. Part of it was the situation. Having to run from what was chasing them. He didn't like losing. Or retreating. The rest of it was being usurped by the other man. He was supposed to be in charge. He remembered what had happened the last time Xander had led them into the field. Everybody had made it back safe. Physically at least. Still, there were lines that Xander was crossing. Ones that he didn't think they should. It was not heroic behavior.

"After." Xander said, a bit of sympathy in his tone. He felt for Robin. He really did. But, he couldn't allow that to interfere with his orders. Or what he thought was necessary. He couldn't let doubt enter into things right now. Or even more lives may be lost. "Come with me. But, don't say anything. And don't touch anything, that means you Andrew. Leah, make sure that Jesse's secure. Wouldn't want him to get loose now would we?"

Xander walked forward, and waited for the others to join him. He watched as a few of the soldiers, or rather agents, stationed at the impromptu headquarters came up to them. They were dressed in identical black suits. Not Men in Black type, but more the type that soldiers ran around in. They had armored vests on, and were armed. He recognized one of them. "Agent Vickers. Keep this prisoner secure. Don't let him see anything, and don't let him talk. Get Cindy to check him out. Make sure he's not packing anything, dangerous."

Vickers took custody of the prisoner and led him away, Leah watched them go, wondering what they were doing there. Another of the men walked with the departing pair, leaving one still standing there.

"Xander. Lampkin wants to see you." The remaining man said. He was heavily muscled, as were most of the men there. He walked with a steady stride as he led the group to the trailer that served as a mobile command unit.

The team entered. It was a bit of a shock to most of the people that walked in. Xander wasn't though, he'd seen the layout before, and had contributed a few suggestions to the initial design.

"How are we doing?" Xander said, without preamble as soon as they had gathered around the main video screen. It was currently displaying a birdseye view of the town from its place in a large computer set up along one of the walls. A small digital timer was overlaid on the screen in the corner. It was counting down, with a little over fifteen minutes left to zero. He knew that it was the remaining time they had left on the borrowed KH-14 reconnaissance satellite. Time share with the NSA and the CIA. There was a bit of time lag, but the new generation of Key Hole satellites had the sharpest resolution of any country's spy satellites. A few more monitors were placed in other locations, displaying real time footage of the teams in the field.

Lampkin looked up at him, from his seat in the middle of the setup. "The rest of your team got out a while ago. Crystal's already been sent away. Hellions are supporting us here. Nailer and Driver are already past the safe zone."

The field commander in charge of the whole operation pointed at one of the left monitors. It showed a man followed by a group of demons. The man was running fast towards the camera, faster than the demons chasing him. "Blazer's on his way out, with the last of the demons trying to get out. Two minutes until we have a clear. If you think we need to go that way."

Xander nodded. The area was pretty much secure. And they'd got out with the crystal. With a prisoner even. But still, there was something there. Something growing. He walked over to a thin young man with glasses. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit and was currently helping monitor communications.

"Uh, Eccleston right?" Xander said. The man looked up at him, pushing the glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. He nodded.

"Right. See if you can get Cindy, Zebra, in here." Xander said. He checked the clock set into the far end of the trailer. Wild Fire would be in place soon. Ready for his role.

Eccleston got onto his radio and called outside. The witch walked in a few moments later. "What's up Xander?"

"What are you sensing out there?" Xander asked, looking at his witch. He didn't have time for the niceties. "What's the threat assessment?"

Cindy frowned. The magical disruptions in the town had reached her, even here. After she had got back she had cast a search spell to see if she could dig something more up. She didn't like what she found. "Something big's coming up. There are portals opening up all over the place. Seven of them. Linked. Massive energy output. No attempt to hide anything. We're looking at a class six nexus. Time till it's operational is probably about 15 minutes."

Xander didn't like the sound of that. The Seal of Danzalthar had only been a class three. At least, that was what the texts he had been forced to study said. Or described in any case. The problem wasn't just range. The dimensions that the portal could link to was just one facet of its power. One of the others was size. And what was being created now was something larger than they had ever faced. At that level, duration of the opening wouldn't even matter. An army could come through, and they didn't have the manpower to face it. Nor the time to mount a proper response. "Right. Baker Delta Zulu. Got no choice."

Andrew perked up at that. It sounded vaguely familiar.

"Are you sure?" Lampkin said. He frowned. It was a pretty drastic call. While he was ultimately in charge in the field for this mission, he had to trust his field teams and their leaders. Rather odd that the man calling the shots was one of the youngest there. "Drastic move."

Xander clenched his jaw. "No doubt. Get it set. Where's the laser?"

"Your call." Lampkin replied. "There's one in the corner, but we can have one of the others set it up."

"No. It's my responsibility." Xander walked over and picked up a bulky steel tube from a shelf on the wall. He checked it to make sure it was properly charged. Xander also grabbed a pair of night vision goggles that were secured to the shelf. He walked towards the hatch out, but stopped before opening it. "Get Vickers to bring the prisoner up to the pile of rocks at the perimeter. Robin, you might want to see this."

He walked out, the others following behind. He waited for the guard to come up with their capture. He noticed as Vi came up with them. He nodded to his girlfriend, pleased that she had come through okay.

He walked towards the town, trying to find a clear line of sight. He set up behind a large pile of rocks. A tall boulder with a large flat section served well as a platform. He set up the laser, making sure it was pointed at the right area. He put on the goggles, adjusting the fit so he could see properly out of them, and shot the laser. Xander made a few small correction to the aim, making sure that it was painting the center of town. He triggered his radio. "Wild Fire. Target is painted. Wait for the clear."

"Roger that. Wild Fire is on hold." Came the response. It was calm and clear. The pilot and crew had been chosen specially for this. Trusted to do the job without question. Absolute loyalty to the cause. "Waiting for the clear."

"Confirmed." Xander nodded, not that they would be able to see it. He looked over to Vickers. "Take off the gag, and get him up here."

"What are you doing?" Robin asked, stepping up to the gear that was set up. He didn't recognize exactly what the mechanism did.

"I think it should be pretty clear by now." Xander said. He looked over at one of his oldest friends. "How about you?"

Vickers pushed man in the suit against the rock, making sure that the laser would not be disturbed. He undid the makeshift gag, pulling the napkins out of the man's mouth.

Jesse took a gulp of air, and then spit, a few scraps of wet paper hit the sand. He didn't know exactly what was going down, but he had an inkling that it wouldn't be good. He could recognize the look in Xander's eye. It was a serious one. "Xander. It doesn't have to go like this. You don't have to do this."

"You're right." Xander replied. "I don't. Call it off. Close those portals, and I don't have to do this. Give up the plot. You're beat."

He triggered his radio again, calling back to the headquarters. "Blazer clear yet?"

"Almost. Just clearing up the rest. Will advise." Came the call back. There was some apprehension in the voice, but it was clearly controlled. Lampkin didn't like the situation. None of them did.

"Confirmed. Let me know when the area's clear." Xander replied, releasing hold of the radio. "Tick tock. Not much time left."

"Look at you." Jesse said, a bit mockingly. "Big man, playing the secret agent. That what you think you are now? Big bad warrior? Think that's who you are now? You're not going to do this."

"I guess you really didn't know me at all then. Makes me wonder how well I knew you." Xander looked back at him. "You know, when the First came, he made a much more convincing you than you do. Funny how he can play a better you, than you. Must be the years of being who you are now."

Robin furrowed his brow. While he had known that a number of them had been visited by the First Evil, he hadn't thought that it might have came to Xander. It came to the major players in that game. Guess it just showed how much he thought of the younger man back then.

"What'd he say?" Jesse was honestly curious about it. Partly, because of what the First Evil would have said in his body. And partly because he wondered what it would have said to one of his best friends. The whole being held at gunpoint and bound and gagged thing not withstanding.

Xander gave a humph. "The usual. You know, about how I wasn't cut out for this. That I was the normal one. Worthless in the fight. Something about how I should have been the one to get out and move on. Marry some nice woman and settle down. That more people died because I wasn't strong enough back then. Jenny Calendar. Teresa. Tara. You."

Jesse winced. "Harsh."

"Harsh." Xander shrugged and gave out a chuckle. "But, true. And nothing I haven't thought of a million times myself. I made mistakes of my own. Let people go that I shouldn't have. And people died."

"There's more to it though." Jesse said. "The First was right about that. This, this isn't what you were meant to do. This isn't your destiny."

Xander smiled. "And I suppose you know what my destiny should have been?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Jesse smiled back. "This is wrong. Your destiny is wrong. Overwritten. For the coming of Jasmine. One of my, glorious leader's former adversaries."

"Really." Xander said, curtly. "And exactly what should have my, true, destiny have been?"

"Cleveland's not bad." Jesse said. "It has some nice neighborhoods. Suburbs to raise kids. That should have been you. You were meant, you were meant to leave Sunnydale. You were meant to fall in love with Cordelia Chase and move with her to LA. Her career as an actress wouldn't have gone past a few guest shots on TV shows, but the sheer fact that she was so awesomely beautiful would have made her the It Girl and sprung her to stardom as a model. You would have moved to New York with her. But, not just in the shadow. You would have stepped up and become her manager, an equal. You would have two beautiful children. Twins. A boy and a girl. The boy would have been named Jesse. After me. The girl would have been named Willow. You were to die at the age of 96, surrounded by loving grandchildren. Even maybe a great grandchild. The world would not have been in danger, as far as you knew, and you would have lived and died without having to fear its end. That was the life that was meant for you. That was the life you should have had. The life you should have lead. Real. Honest to God. Happiness."

Vi gasped quietly. Xander felt it more than heard it. He wondered if she had ever seen a picture of his former girlfriend or heard much about her. Xander couldn't remember if it had happened or not.

"So what happened?" Xander swallowed hard. "If that was to be my future, then what made it fall apart?"

"When you kissed Willow." Jesse said.

"And you know that how?" Xander retorted. He heard the voice in his earpiece tell him that the area was clear. That Wild Fire was set to go. He only half paid attention to it. He checked the laser. Making sure it was still set correctly. Not much time left, but just enough. He was learning something here after all.

"We have our own seers remember?" Jesse shrugged. As best as he could anyway, with his wrists bound. "The chaos magic with that mage, Raynes wasn't it? Anyway, a slight influence on his magic by Jasmine and her minions, and you get dosed. Which leads you down the path."

"No." Xander stated. "It wasn't just some magic. That was a mistake I made. Magic didn't cause it."

"True." Jesse agreed. "But, it did give you that little thought about Willow being a girl, all grown up. Which was enough for you to screw things up. But, don't feel too bad about it, it was high school, and it could have happened to anyone. And if it wasn't that, it would have been something else to make sure Cordelia got to LA. Without you."

"So why are you telling him now?" Vi stepped forward. She was angry. She had seen the look of pain in Xander's face. He covered it well, but she'd seen him hurting enough to now when it happened.

Jesse looked at her. "Cause this is his second chance. A last chance. The last thing I can offer. It will take a lot of work and magical energy, but my superiors have authorized this as one last deal."

"Which is what?" She said, though she suspected she already knew.

"Destiny." Jesse said, calmly. He looked at his friend. "I can give that back to you. Cordelia. Kids. Two eyes. A life. A normal, happy life without worry and death. Without the blood of innocents on your hands. We can give that to you."

"My own personal thirty pieces of silver." Xander said coldly. His eye narrowed. "And what exactly would I have to do to get that?"

"Nothing." Jesse shook his head. "Absolutely nothing. You don't have to fight for us. In fact, I'd rather you didn't if your heart isn't in it. All you have to do. All you have to do to get your life back is, walk away. That's it. Walk away from this fight. Walk away, and you get your life back. The life you deserve. The beautiful wife. The loving family. The one that you never had growing up. You can have it all. All of it. Just walk away, man. Walk away."

"You know?" Xander said looking at his friend. "I honestly believe you can."

Vi closed her eyes, a tear leaked out the side of her right one. She took a step back, hoping no one saw.

"But, you know what?" Xander looked at his girlfriend. Then he looked at the others to cover. He returned his gaze to Jesse. "Whatever I might have wanted back then? I have what I want now. I have what I want now."

Xander wasn't sure who he was trying to convince. He snuck a last look at Vi. His heart ached, and he turned his view hardened as he looked at the town again. He'd managed to convince himself. It was something at least. He activated his radio again. "Wild Fire. Baker Delta Zulu is a go. I repeat. Baker Delta Zulu is a go."

"Roger that." Came the voice of the pilot. "Starting my run."

"Last chance. For Christ's sake man." Xander threw out. No reaction. Just Jesse looking sad. All the reaction he expected, unfortunately. Fanatics.

Xander waited for it to happen. He watched the town in front of him. It looked normal from this distance. Just a sleepy little town without a care in the world. Things always looked normal from a distance. Probably most of the human population was kids now that the adults had turned into demons and had gone after them. The rest were probably bunkered down with their kids, scared out of their minds. He glanced to his right. "You were right about one thing. You know, about sacrifice?"

"What's that?" Jesse said, disappointed that he couldn't give his friend what he deserved. The happiness that he deserved.

"The difference between me and you?" Xander said, looking his friend in the eyes this time. "There isn't one. I just hope that whatever I'm doing, and whatever I'm doing it for, it's worth it. Course, that's probably what you're thinking right now too. Funny that. Guess we all have something coming to us."

The town exploded into flames. The town engulfed in the missiles that were dropped by the plane, Wild Fire. The callsign was particularly apt. The flames flickered and their faces were lit up by them. It was a huge fire. Covering the city, an burning it clean. He saw it glint off a tear's trail on Vi's cheek. He wanted to comfort her. But, he knew he shouldn't make the move considering that Jesse was right there. Information was a weapon. It killed him though.

"Xander. What did you do?" Robin exclaimed. Utterly shocked by what just happened.

"Base Delta Zero." Andrew said. The knowledge had been itching at him. He finally recognized the terms. He smiled in triumph at that bit of Star Wars trivia. "That's clever."

"What did I just do?" Xander repeated. He looked at Robin. "I just murdered about a hundred people. Most of them were kids. Because the evidence points to an invasion sent to take us all down to reclaim something the bad guys want. I did the logical thing. I guess, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Never really understood what that was supposed to mean. Till now."

He then turned to Andrew, who was about to finish the quote. He was angry enough already without having to worry about him. "Don't. Don't you finish that. Don't you dare."

His voice grew colder, in opposition of the anger he felt. At himself and at the annoying and clueless boy in front of him. "What I just did, it meant something. It meant the deaths of people that didn't deserve to die because I couldn't see a way out. What part of that is remotely amusing?"

Andrew had the good grace to appear ashamed at the way he had reacted.

"You're right. I'm not a hero." Xander looked at Jesse. "Course, neither are you. So what's that make us then?"

He flicked off the laser, and turned his view to Vickers. "Take him to the Hole."

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Author's Note: I expect that to be somewhat controversial. Though, at this point, Xander and company are technically barely winning. Outside of the pieces of the device, most of the Big Bad's plans have been fairly succesful. And I'm taking a wider view of things for Xander as opposed to the others. It's about the big game, and he's going to have to start looking at things in terms of cities and continents and worlds. Even dimensions. Earth is just one bitty little player in the grand view.

It also makes me wonder what the criteria for ratings are. Graphic description of events or the events themselves, even in broad strokes with not that much graphic description. Maybe I should kick it up to M.

More reviews please. Feedback is appreciated.


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight

**Chapter 38: The Lord of War**

"What were you thinking?" Giles shouted. He had taken off his glasses and was holding them rather tightly in one hand. Xander idly thought that he might break them if he gripped any harder. "Or were you thinking at all?"

Xander said nothing. He stood straight up, weathering the storm. Normally, such a chewing out would have been done in the conference room. So that everyone could see exactly how badly he had screwed up. Of course, the facts of the situation that had occurred were not something that Giles nor the other leaders of the Council wanted to get out to the troops. He had had to wait outside for quite a while. Probably because the people in charged wanted to know more about what happened from people they could trust. Or at least people they thought they could trust.

So, Giles and Robin had tried to run some damage control. Vi and Colleen were there with him. Council slayers running around independently wasn't something that they liked. They were losing control and they knew it. While Buffy had been allowed near free reign in Sunnydale, that wasn't something that was tolerated here. Giles had really started to crack down. Not that Xander's slayers really paid attention to that. Though they usually didn't do it in such a public fashion.

"I was thinking that a demonic army that was planning on a breach into this dimension wasn't a good thing." Xander stated, unemotionally. After they had been cleared for a departure back to Cleveland, there'd been a lot of yelling from Robin. He'd mostly ignored it, knowing that as much as Robin threatened to do, he wouldn't make a move without Giles' okay. And that meant a full debrief. The result of micromanagement. In ways, one of their largest problems. You had to trust your people in the field. Or they would get bogged down in asking for permission. Time not well spent when the world was on the line. "So I closed it down. Sort of like what happened in Sunnydale. You didn't seem to have a problem with what happened there."

"Those are completely different situations Xander." Giles snapped back. "There was nobody left in Sunnydale. You killed innocent people."

"Yeah." Xander said, softer this time. He felt guilty about that enough already. He didn't need Giles telling him. "Course, I didn't really have any choice at the time. I made the call I had to."

He looked at Robin, who was standing next to Giles, behind the Council head's desk. Somehow it seemed smaller than it had before. Less impressive. "Hey, maybe if we had followed my suggestion earlier it wouldn't have been necessary."

"We had a responsibility to the people of that town." Robin said, angrily. Having been put on the spot, he wasn't exactly pleased about being blamed for the massacre. "It wasn't your call."

"I beg to differ." Xander retorted. "I think you're forgetting that I'm essentially freelance. I'm an independent contractor remember? I'm not in your chain of command. I only followed your orders because it suited my purpose and you weren't doing a bad job of it. However, as I'm sure you can clearly tell by now, I don't work for you. I work with you. There is a difference. We're on the bad side of things already. For every step forward, we get two steps behind. In case you haven't noticed, we're still behind on points on this. We're losing this one. The Sisters have spoken. An army's rising up and they're likely pretty close by already. And we don't know where. Sometimes, drastic measures are necessary. Some innovation."

"And you're independent thinking led to you blowing up the town." Robin walked around the desk, getting into Xander's face. The one-eyed demon hunter didn't flinch though.

"And if you had made the right decisions in the first place that never would have happened." Colleen said, speaking for the first time. "You should have grabbed what you were looking for and left."

Robin turned. "You shouldn't have even been there. You're not allowed to just go gallivanting around whenever you want. We have rules."

"Enough!" Xander shouted. He was tired enough after the whole mission and he hadn't gotten any sleep on the flight back. His head was pounding, and the argument wasn't helping matters. "We're getting a little off topic here. And I still have things to do. So, if you're done bitching about protocol, we can get down to business."

He took a seat in front of Giles' desk. Settling in, as if there for a simple meeting. He waited for the others to calm down. "Besides, you want to go down that route, we may as well talk about how exactly Glory was stopped."

"Alright. Calm down, the both of you." Giles looked at him. Wondering exactly how much Xander had seen or figured out about what they had done in the past. "Where did the extra resources you used come from? I do not think that Riley is supplying you such things."

"You're right." Xander said, looking at his former mentor. "He didn't. I only get light arms from him. The heavier hardware comes from places higher up than a grunt."

Giles put his glasses back on. "Where, Xander?"

Xander took a breath. He looked at Giles and Robin's expressions. They wouldn't exactly let him go without some kind of explanation. "Alright. Let's just say that some of my benefactors are rather well placed to provide military support. They make some phone calls, and golly if military shipments start moving."

"You work for the government?" Giles asked incredulously. Xander should have known better, he thought. It seemed like the boy could be so naïve when it came to the ways of the world. After the fiasco with the Initiative the younger man should have known better than to get in bed with the government again.

"No." Xander said. He could see what Giles was thinking. How he had screwed up again and had gotten in over his head. "But, let's face it, rich politicians can make all sorts of things happen. Especially if they happen to be in charge of certain discretionary funds for black projects. And with the world's leading arms dealer, one helicopter mistakenly reported as destroyed in Iraq isn't going to be investigated too heavily."

"So they just let you run around with all of this?" Robin asked, eyebrows raised. "Out of the goodness of their hearts?"

"Not all the way." Xander clarified. "They live on this planet too. It's in their best interest to keep it safe. Besides, they're getting something out of it."

"Really." Robin said. "Like what?"

"The supernatural world is pretty much untapped in terms of using it as a resource." Xander replied. "I'm sure that the guy that saved our asses and created that nice little distraction impressed you right?"

"And that's what? An untapped resource? Demonic mercenaries?" Giles asked. He had read the initial reports. While demon on demon justice wasn't unheard of, it was rare in more organized hunting groups. Humans tended to stick together, and not all demons liked people hunting other demons, even if they weren't their own species.

Xander shook his head. "Not quite. You're looking at the results of a reactivated super soldier program. That's one of the things that I help out on. What Robin saw was a successful field test. It also means that it serves their interest to support me. I bring in material and show them around, and they can develop a protocol more easily."

"And why would you support that?" Giles said. "Did you learn nothing from Riley? Scientific enhancements do not work. Why would you want to help with something so foolhardy?"

Scientific. As if it was a four letter word. Xander wondered why Giles was so insistent on sticking to tradition. It was the twenty first century. Vampires weren't such a persistent problem anymore. A good part of that was due to the more rational state of society. Scientific progress had played its part in that. It was a lot harder to kill to feed when people didn't believe in superstitions anymore. And equally so when larges waves of mysterious deaths were investigated seriously by police departments with the latest in forensic science.

"How many American soldiers do you think have died in Iraq? Five hundred? Six hundred? How about Afghanistan? And you know, the Brits are there too." Xander had never been very political. He still wasn't. Coming out of Sunnydale, he'd been forced to look at things in a larger scale. It wasn't about a neighborhood anymore. Nor a city. And it wasn't something as abstract as the world. He saw the world and its countries. And people fighting the good fight, even if was against other people. Soldiers all. One way or another. And deserving of every chance to come back home.

It wasn't that he thought the war was a good thing. Or if it was a bad thing. At this point, it didn't even really matter. Fact was that people were dying by the dozens. Grainer had certainly done his best to guilt him into helping out where he could on the super soldier program. Truthfully though, it hadn't taken much convincing.

"So what?" Robin said. The wheels were turning and he didn't like where this line of reasoning was leading. "You want to see slayers fighting terrorists or insurgents? When did you start reading the news?"

Xander looked at Robin. He couldn't really blame him. He had the exact same concern. Part of the reason why he was helping out with the current project after all. "No. And that's why I'm doing what I'm doing. Open your eyes. The government already knows about the slayers. You really think they'd just do nothing? With the Initiative essentially gone, and the decision to make a bunch of people superhuman, they're getting worried. They're looking to even things up. Iraq is just the beginning. Five hundred dead and this war is looking to last a while. The folks on the Hill are getting antsy. And sooner or later, they're going to want to start cutting corners if they don't see a viable alternative."

"So what are you saying?" Robin asked. "You're helping them to keep the slayers safe? Then why haven't you gotten superpowered?"

"Damn right I am." Xander confirmed. "Right now, having to deal with a bunch of empowered girls isn't worth it for them. They lack real battle experience and all you've given them is some training on weapons that have been obsolete for a couple of hundred years, and tactics that only work against idiots. The government isn't looking at using the slayers. Yet. Because the guys I work for are at the good end of a potential multi billion dollar defense contract. If a sustainable enhancement program can be created based off of the good results we've already turned in. I'm making sure that it stays slayer free. Volunteers only. Funnily enough, I'm considered enough of an expert to make sure the greed doesn't make them do anything stupid. So far, it's more cost effective doing it my way. For both sides. So yeah, I am doing this to keep the slayers safe. I don't want to see them dissected to figure out what makes them tick."

Xander looked up at Robin. "Oh, and the thought of getting amped up has crossed my mind. But, the docs figure that given all the crap my body's been through, there's a 95 chance of me getting cancer if I go through the treatment. Then I'd, you know, die."

He looked at Giles. "And you, exactly what is your problem with making sure good men and women have the best possible chance of making it out of there? Sure, it's a purely human concern, but still. Even if you don't think much of the war, they're still people dying. You so involved in your little segment of keeping the world safe, that you can't see the others that are doing the same? Or do they not matter since it isn't your own little war?"

"You know that isn't the case, Xander." Giles said. He was annoyed at the criticism. While he paid attention to current events, and certainly had sympathy for what was going on, he had more pressing concerns. And couldn't get caught up in more trivial matters.

"Yeah. Right. Or maybe you just haven't been considering it." Xander said. Letting the lack of world awareness on the part of the Watcher slide. Still one would think that the head of the Watchers Council would want to at least consider the ramifications of mass world changing events. "Did you think that changing the world wouldn't have consequences? That nobody would notice? Everything's connected."

"I think we can handle it." Giles replied. While he had foreseen some issues with such a mass upsurge in the slayer population, he did not think that one would come from any organized body. He thought that once they got organized, the demons would learn their place. With so many in position all over the planet, the world was a safer place. That was the idea anyway.

"Right, cause I'm real impressed by how many people you sent with us." Xander said, more flippantly than he should have. "And I thought you were running a professional operation here. You're still thinking small time. Without the support personnel I brought in, nobody would have gotten out of there alive. You need to improve that."

"And where exactly did you get those men?" Giles asked. He was rather worried. Considering the technology and number of people that Robin and Andrew had mentioned, Xander was still holding quite a bit back. It was expected, but foolhardy in his opinion. "If you were as independent as you say, then I hardly think you would have had so much access to personnel."

"Money gets people to do all sorts of things. Besides, I have allies in all sorts of countries remember? Manpower isn't so much an issue at this point." Xander checked his watch. It was almost five. "Can we wrap this up? You can get the others to tell you about what happened. I'll get you a copy of my report later."

He stood up, gathering his things to leave. He had expected a more explosive reaction on the part of the Council. Xander was actually pleasantly surprised by how civilized things had stayed, relatively speaking.

"Wait." Giles said. "We're not done quite yet. Where's the crystal. We need to study it."

Xander looked up at him. He smiled. "No. Since you didn't exactly get it yourself, you're not in a position to ask for it. I'll share what we come up with. But, access to it has been restricted. Don't feel too bad, even I'm not allowed to see it."

"And Jesse?" Robin added.

Xander narrowed his eye at that. "Honestly, I have no idea. Right now, he's probably being prepped for interrogation. Somewhere. Uh, I'd suggest not mentioning him to Willow. At this point, it's not really necessary. And frankly, it'd just make things harder for her if she finds out he's here."

"You don't know where he is?" Giles asked, incredulously. While he had only the vaguest recollections of the former Sunnydale student, he remembered that the boy had been turned. And now was back. It was a fascinating event. And something they should be studying. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"Because you don't believe _me_. Can't really blame you for that I guess." Xander said, seriously. "But, it's the truth. I'm field personnel. I don't get to know where prisoners are taken for hard interrogation. That'd be dumb."

"And why exactly is it dumb?" Giles said. Xander must be keeping the truth from them, he thought. It was getting repetitive and even more annoying. He'd have to take further steps to find out exactly what Xander was doing. Before things spiraled irreparably out of control.

Xander took a hard look at the men before him. He had to reign in the desire to call them amateurs. While he was no expert in how an type of defense agency was run, there'd been enough hammered into his head over the last year to give him a good idea. Frankly, Giles should have had a better understanding than he did why certain rules were in place. More than he should anyway. As a leader, Giles should have been even more open to learning, and improving. It was depressing that that didn't seem to be the case. Xander only hoped it would cause irreparable problems for them all. "I'm field personnel. That means I have direct contact with the enemy. I get captured, and I break or anything, then everything I know gets out there. So, to keep that from happening, there's a lot of stuff I don't know. A lot of stuff that I don't want to know. It's safer that way for everyone."

He picked up his bag. "I appreciate the translation work. I'll let you know how it goes. We can, finish the rest later, though I still need anything you have on the mechanics. Still, I'm sure you've got a lot to absorb so I'll let you get to it."

Giles wanted to discuss more, but he recognized that Xander, wanting to leave, wouldn't take it seriously. He'd have to figure something else out if he wanted to get to the truth. He frowned. "Very well. We'll finish this tomorrow morning."

Xander walked to the door, opening it. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, and I wouldn't want to see Colleen or Vi reprimanded or anything. As far as I can tell, they didn't have any slayer responsibilities here at the time, so really, you couldn't tell them not to come with me. You're not their parents or their guardians. So watch how you act."

"With what is going on in the world, they cannot just go gallivanting around whenever they want to. They are slayers. They have a duty..." Giles started lecturing.

"Duty." Xander repeated, breaking in. "They can't go AWOL. They aren't your own personal little army. Are they?"

Xander walked out.

Giles watched him go, sighing. He looked over at the slayers that stood near the side wall, rather nervous. "You two can leave as well. We'll talk more in the morning."

Vi and Colleen looked confused for a moment, having expecting a continuation of their being chewed out. It didn't last long as they walked quickly for the exit and left the room, closing the door behind them.

Giles waited until the two must have been a ways down the hall and looked towards the corner of the room nearest to his desk. That part of the office shimmered a bit, then solidified. The cloaking spell was dropped, revealing the form of a pretty young redhead. "What do you think?"

"I think that Xander's gotten himself into trouble." Willow said. She frowned. "Maybe we shouldn't have sent him away. We could have kept a closer eye on him here."

"He would have wanted to get involved if he had been here. He's nothing if not loyal." Giles said. "It was the best thing we could do for him. Do you have anything more on what he's given us?"

Willow shook her head, her short hair whipping around a bit. "There's some stuff on quantum computing in the notes he's given us, and I'm having trouble…uh it's taking some time to get through it all. I'm sure I'll have it done soon I'm sure."

"Okay." Giles looked at her, thoughtful. "There's something else I want though. See if you can find anything in his mind."

Robin looked startled at that proposal. "Mr. Giles, are you sure? We're talking about Xander here. I mean, as much as I may disagree with what he does, his heart's in the right place."

"Be that as it may, Xander represents a security risk for us." Giles said, settling in once again into his role of authority. "I have to do what's best for us all. No matter what it costs."

Robin frowned. He understood that line of reasoning. Even if he didn't want to agree with it. "You know, Xander's said the same thing. How are we any different if we do this?"

"We have the experience to determine when certain actions are necessary." Giles said, justified to himself. "Xander does it. Willow, how long will it take to prepare this?"

Willow thought for a moment. While she didn't relish the thought of tampering with another's mind, given her past, she did understand what was being asked of her. Looking out of Xander. Something must have happened to him to get him to turn on her like she had. How she was still using too much magic. And how even trying to do good with it wasn't worth it in the long run given how deep she had gotten. How she hadn't the wisdom to determine how best to use her gift. Like she wasn't smart figure it out, or why Xander of all people should be the one to lecture her about it. "Not long. I don't need many supplies for this. I should probably get started."

She left. Inwardly she was fuming. How dare he, she thought. To keep Jesse's presence for her. To simply lock him up. And to be interrogated, probably a euphemism for torture. Xander had changed, she thought. And he surely needed someone to bail him out. Even though they had argued in the past, it was more evidence of how screwed up he had become.

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Xander put his bag on the counter and rubbed his face. He walked into his bedroom and booted up his computer. After a few minutes he had logged onto the Internet and had activated a secure video link to his team in New York. It was a bit awkward, but it was the best they could do. It wasn't like he could just teleport back and forth between states.

He saw Cindy sit down at her desk on her side of the connection. "Hey. How is everything?"

"Good." The witch said. She frowned. "Bad."

"Okay." Xander said, slowly. "How about we start with the good?"

"Well, we kind of figured out what the crystal does." Cindy replied. "It's some type of energy collector as you mentioned. Likely a power source. It was absorbing some different wavelengths of radiation as well as some mystical energy. Way the structure is set up it's a one shot deal. Some type of implosion and the energy is released, to power something."

"Okay. So that's the good. I guess." Xander rubbed his arm. "So what's the bad?"

"Well, knowing you, we started looking for ways of destroying it. Or rendering it otherwise useless." Cindy said, looking at him. Or rather the small camera on top of her computer monitor. "And that's the problem."

Xander frowned. "Don't keep me in suspense here. What's wrong?"

"It's a one shot deal." Cindy repeated. "And the energy that its stored is intrinsically tied to its matrix. Break that, and the energy is released. Cataclysmically."

Xander's eye opened wide. He understood. "So if we try to destroy it…"

"It blows up. And likely takes us and the city with it." Cindy finished.

"Anything we can do? Maybe, shoot it off some where? Teleportation?" Xander said, thinking aloud. "There's got to be something we can do. Send it to the bottom of the ocean?"

"Unfortunately, it's doubtful that that any of those would contain it. Teleportation could be too unstable for it, and we could risk setting it off. And we're pretty sure that any type of premature detonation will open a nexus. No pinpoint on the exact linkage, but even the center of the Earth wouldn't necessarily be isolated enough." Cindy said, dashing Xander's hopes. She rubbed her eyes. She'd been up all night into the day and afternoon, trying to crack it. "We're still researching it, but I'm not hopeful at this point."

"Okay. So, if we can't find a way, then what can we do?" Xander asked.

"At this point, we cover it in concrete and stick it in the Vault." Cindy yawned. "This thing's pretty slick. The only way to make it safe enough to destroy is to use it. Somebody designed it well."

"Wait, somebody made this thing?" Xander broke in.

"Yeah." Cindy replied. "Didn't I mention that? Anyway, the crystalline structure is too uniform to be natural. It's artificial. And really old, based on the energy absorption rates and how much energy is stored now. Whatever this thing is for, somebody's been planning this for a very long time. Millennia."

"Or Jesse's people are picking up where somebody else left off." Xander looked at the witch again, noticing how tired she looked. "Get some sleep. We're not going to solve this thing tonight. Just make sure it's locked up tight. I want extra security on this. We can't risk somebody getting to it."

"Okay." Cindy nodded. "Oh, Lampkin wants to talk to you. It's about what we should do with your, friend."

Xander clenched his jaw. He could imagine what was liable to be in store for Jesse. As far as the world was concerned, Jesse McNally just disappeared and was declared dead a few years after his vanishing act. Which meant that anything could be done to him, and nobody would complain. Whatever side Jesse was on now, he couldn't imagine that he would want it to go down like that. "I'll call him. Get some sleep."

"I'm sorry Xander." Cindy shook her head. She hadn't known about Jesse before hand, but she could imagine what it was doing to him now. His best friend. Tragic really. She turned off her side of the link.

Xander closed his eye and ran a hand through his hair. It was getting long. He'd have to get it cut soon. Vi was already complaining about it. He set up his video connection for the next call he needed to make. It didn't take long to go through.

"Xander. How are you?" Taylor Lampkin said.

"Well enough I suppose." Xander answered. "What do you need?"

"McNally's interrogation. He's being softened up a bit first. Sen-Dep, some other stuff. We're going to go in day after tomorrow." Lampkin got down to business. "You know him. That could be useful."

Xander looked his at superior. "I…I don't know if that's true. I know him, but, things are different now."

"Maybe so. But, given his interactions with you, I think he'd be more willing to talk to you than any of us." The assistant director stated. "Besides, he might let something slip if he's talking to you."

"I understand that, but he wasn't willing to give anything up when I threatened to destroy a town." Xander replied. "I don't know how much play I'll have with him now."

Lampkin nodded. "That's true. But, is that the only reason?"

Xander thought for a moment. "I think, I think I'm too close to this one. I've lost objectivity on this."

"Most of this has already been personal for you." Taylor looked at Xander. The eye patch. The relatively unlined face. It was hard sometimes to remember just how young Xander was. "I understand though. Any suggestions?"

Xander nodded. "I'd get Curtis to observe at least some of it. He's had the training course so he should have some ideas. And if need be, get Jack in there. But, make sure that Curtis isn't there when you do it. Send me the transcripts and video and I'll see if there's anything I can pull out of it."

"Okay. Though we may need to bring you in to observe." Lampkin said. He trusted Xander's judgment on this. It was interesting that he trusted Xander's judgment on knowing when his judgment would be impaired as well. "You did good. Get some sleep."

"Yes, sir." Xander said. He reached over to shut off the link. "Goodbye."

Xander sat back as he turned off the video link. He rubbed his eye, conflicted. He had just pretty much told them to torture one of his oldest friends if he didn't start talking before that. He was already a murderer. What was one more sin.

He stood up and walked into the hall of his apartment. He had gotten a good deal on the place, not that money was a particular worry for him given his current employer. It was a two bedroom apartment in a pretty nice part of town. Large main room and kitchen. As well as a nice view. It would be ideal for a family starting to grow. Wasn't what it was being used for now though.

Xander reached a large engraved steel door. It was out of place in the apartment. It was the entrance to the second bedroom of his apartment. Aftermarket work which pretty much nullified his deposit. But, it was worth it. After he unlocked the door he went into the converted room and turned on the light. He locked the door behind him. The room now contained his armory and workshop. His own personal Batcave. Strictly speaking, it wasn't necessary. Level 6 provided him space and any equipment he might need back at the base. Of course, he wasn't in New York anymore, so he had needed to make another conversion. The couple of years in construction had come in handy.

Also, he had wanted to keep his own supplies on hand. There were a number of books that lined the far wall that he wanted to keep private. Certain histories and details on creatures that he didn't want anybody knowing about. On the side walls were racks he had added himself. Assorted weapons rested on them. Old mixing with new. Swords and axes and daggers. Some enchanted and therefore unique and highly useful, and some he just liked. There were guns as well. Rifles, shotguns, handguns. Xander liked keeping his own supply of them as well. Sometimes there were things he needed to handle that he didn't want any of his employers or hires to find out about. What he was planning now was likely one of them. Tracings and patterns were painted and etched wherever there was free space. In over have a dozen languages and mystical alphabets it was designed to keep all eyes off of it and the goings on inside. Much of the work was designed by others, put together piecemeal so that nobody but him knew what the final defensive structure would be. Another precaution.

He walked to the closet and opened the door. He knelt down to the bolted in wall safe and spun the combination. Six number hard code. He opened it carefully a crack, then reached in with a finger and detached a thin wire that was attached to the door and a grenade that was strapped inside the safe.

From inside he pulled out a human skull with a wax candle that had been melted on top of it. Along with that he took an old book and a jeweled knife. He brought the lot over to the large worktable that was in the center of the room. From a drawer in the table he extracted a lighter and a small lacquered bowl. He put them into place carefully on the table. The skull in the center of a metal circle that had been implanted onto the table top. The bowl in front, outside of the circle.

Xander went over to a small refrigerator that was against the far war, near the walled over windows. From that he took out a small glass jar. Inside was a red liquid. It was pretty obvious what it was. He went back to the table and poured the blood into the bowl. Then he lit the candle.

He opened the book and held the dagger in his hand. A few Greek phrases were sounded out, slowly and a bit hesitantly, while Xander stirred the blood with the knife. He took it out when he had finished speaking and had stirred exactly ten revolutions, and lay it on the table on top of a piece of spare cloth that had already been on the desk.

Nothing happened at first, but small points of light slowly appeared in the eye sockets of the old and yellowing skull. They grew larger, reaching an intense fiery red.

The blood in the bowl started to move in ripples, the vibrations caused by the voice that started to echo in the room. "Mortal. Why do you call upon the favor of the Gods without a sacrifice?"

It was a deep and gravelly voice. A voice that conveyed its timelessness and its gravity. When the bearer of this voice spoke, people died. A voice of a warrior and commander.

Xander looked at the skull before him. "Come off it Ares, it's just me."

"Alexander." The voice said, equally deep and serious. "Remember your place."

"I thought I did." Xander said, moving closer, looking into the skull's empty eye holes. "Until I found out that someone's got it in for me. Somebody's playing a game and knows a lot more than I do. Somebody's been playing the long game for thousands of years. This has been going on for a while. Funny how you never mentioned it."

"There are limits to what even I know. And what I can tell you, Alexander." The voice said. "This is an unforeseen turn of events."

"To you?" Xander frowned. If even the Greek God of war didn't know what was going on, then it meant that whoever it was, was subtle enough not to get noticed. That kind of ability, given the stuff it was pulling now, bespoke of someone extremely skilled. And patient. To break cover now, meant things were coming to a head. He had had warning from some witches he had consulted, but nothing this immediate nor so organized and skillful. He thought he had more time. To deal with the consequences of the deals he had made and to prepare without having to get even deeper in bed with his "allies." Evidently not.

While Ares was in exile, along with the majority of the Greco-Roman pantheon, he still had enough power and influence to keep track of what was going on on Earth. They had been kicked out of the Earth dimension, a shift in power structure that gave rise to the current Powers that Be. Some of them wanted back in.

"What do you know then?" Xander questioned. "You have to have more than nothing at all."

"I have heard rumblings in the lower planes. Speak of one of the Old Ones that is seeking a way back. A plan that was set into motion eons before your nation stood strong upon the Earth." Ares stated. "I know not for certain the name of this being, only that it is one of great ability. Skill to be taken seriously if even I cannot ascertain what is happening."

"That's great." Xander grumbled. "That's real great. I side with you on this thing, and you give me jack."

The light in the skull flared brightly. The voice raised in intensity. "Watch yourself mortal. You have my favor only as long as it suits me to give it. I have already given you much information on what resources could be made available to you."

Xander met the apparent stare. A battle of wills. It would be foolhardy to do it for real. A human, any human, could not stand against the wrath of a true God. A war God. "Come off it. You need me as much as I need you. And you know more than you are stating. You don't want this world taken over either."

The candle flickered. The ripples of the blood settled. Then came a loud sound. The sound of laughter. It filled the room with its intensity. "You amuse me mortal. Very well. I believe it may be Sekhmet, the daughter of Ra."

Xander rubbed his arm. He was vaguely familiar with the name. He'd have to get Cindy and the others to start researching it. "Any proof?"

"Nothing that can be used in open challenge. And for that reason you should not speak so lightly of this. And why I have kept it from you till now. Things are starting to happen. The wheels turn." Ares said. "We do not have the allies to make a stand yet. When I attain my rightful rank in the current pantheon I will have more space to do as I please. Yet, you do not seem to have taken the necessary steps yet. How far along is your plan?"

"I'm working on it." Xander said, defensively. "I've had things come up. You know, with Sekhmet bringing back my best friend back from the dead and all. And having to blow up a town."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps you are having second thoughts." The skull accused. "You have a bargain with me. Do you really desire to feel my vengeance upon you if you decide to renege upon it?"

"My feelings remain the same." Xander stated, coldly. "Resheph of the Ugarit will die. By my hand. And you will be installed in his place. As we have agreed upon."

"And how far are you with "our" plan?" The voice said, smoothly, or as smoothly as such a harsh voice could. "Where do we stand?"

"I have the Tak horn." Xander said. "And have attained some of the necessary favors and rights to make my move. The Dark Congress. That's where it'll have to take place."

"Where you act as my ambassador." Ares said, stating what had already been decided. "And strike upon the god that caused the death of your beloved."

"She's not my beloved." Xander snapped, forgetting his place for a moment. He softened his tone. "She just deserved better. Better than she got. Better than what Resheph of the Powers That Suck decided to allow his child to do. Jasmine used her and discarded her when she was all used up. I still want pay back for it. Nothing's changed."

The voice laughed again. An approving sound to it. "Very well then, Alexander. If there is no more you need of your god, I will depart."

Xander grit his teeth. He wasn't going to be some lackey for anybody. Not even a god. "You know, I could still do with some of those empowerments you've given your warriors in the past…I nearly got killed back there you know."

"As I have said before, such actions would bring attention down upon us. Attention you do now want." Ares said, a bit annoyed. "You will have to make due with what you have. From what I have seen you are quite a formidable warrior. Quite the body count. And your path towards vengeance speaks of the fire in you soul."

"Yeah right." Xander threw out. "Killing innocent people. Real big warrior I've turned out to be."

"The greatest warriors in the world have been humans. Fighting for what they believed in." Ares rebuked. "Are you not doing the same?"

"And they've pretty much all been monsters, one way or another. Conquering and laying down the law at the point of a sword." Xander said. "Hardly what I want to be."

"Perhaps." The voice said, growing softer. The end of the audience was at hand. "But, you could have been one of the great ones. It's in you to be. Else I never would have come to you in the first place. You could take this world as my general. I feel the bloodlust in your heart, Alexander. It calls to me as it has for all of my followers. Do not deny who you are. Embrace it and embrace your destiny."

And there was silence. Xander blew out the candle. He replaced the artifacts back into the safe and drawer, making sure to re-rig the trap in the wall safe. The knife was wiped down and placed into the drawer along with the lighter. He picked up the drawer and the empty jar and walked to the kitchen, making sure to turn off the light and lock the door on the way out.

Xander washed the dish and the jar, making sure that all of the vulture's blood was clean from the sink. He placed them on the dish rack next to the sink and walked into the family room connected to the kitchen. He drew the blinds and shut off the overhead light. A few slits of light still appeared as he stood in the darkness.

He laughed sadly, thinking about what he had just been told. He sat down against the near wall, his back against the wall of a counter that sat between the kitchen and the main room. It was a hard thing, to try to deny what one had to become. He knew that he had done questionable things in the past. And was liable to do the very same in the future. The might have beens of the past had been a comfort. To believe that given a different set of circumstances he could have lived as a decent person. A person that didn't have so much weight on his shoulders. And so much blood on his hands.

But, one of the gods of war, a god of vengeance and death, had told him what was in him. What he could be given the right set of circumstances and motivations. While the enemy offered him paradise and peace, an ally offered him the acknowledgement of what he loathed to become. He didn't know if Cordelia would have wanted him to take revenge. At this point, probably not. It didn't matter though. He'd still have to do it. If only to keep from having to face whatever Ares could throw at him. Such was the price of making a deal with the Devil. Not that that was the main reason he was doing it. Better that Ares think that vengeance was what drove him. Though, he couldn't deny that there wasn't a part of him that wanted what was planned to come to fruition out of sheer vindictiveness. He was doing it for the right reasons. To save the world. The logical course of action given what was happening in the world. At least that's what he told himself.

When he had the first glimpses of the battle to come he had been forced to take steps to find out as much as he could. There hadn't been much. The seers and mystics and other occult experts, even with the new information he had come across, had come to only disturbing conclusions. Despite the lack of details, it all led to one undeniable truth. That they would lose this one. That this would be the Apocalpyse. The End of the World. Ragnarok. Armageddon. So he had come to see that the only way out was to take sides in a conflict that was not yet their own. To make allies. Something they hadn't done in the past. That was coming back to haunt them now. And he couldn't be choosey in where he found his help.

Ares had given him much. A way to spread word and reputation, quicker than he could have on his own. To develop his organization and find allies on Earth. Men and women, warriors all. Linked to the God of War. A bond that allowed him to establish and bulk up Level 6 in such a quick time. Not that any of them were aware of it. They just thought he really was that good at finding people to work with. And where the bodies lay to be used for blackmail. Too bad he hadn't gotten any enhancements of his own in the package. He wasn't so power hungry as to be actively seeking super powers at any cost, but nearly any edge was worth.

It wasn't all just the physical. Men and arms. Reliable intel of what was going on on the other planes of existance. The way that actions on Earth rippled throughout the multiverse. The movements of armies on the other side. What deals were being made. And who was moving into the vacuum of power left behind. Information that was sure to be key. And more.

If he could bring Ares to his old place. A place at the seat of power amongst the Powers that Be and Decided, then the old God could bring his own armies to Earth, as War Master it was his right to defend his realm. And if the forces of Sekhmet tried to take the battle there, then there would be more than slayers that would rise up in defense of the world. A battle the likes of which had never been seen since the true demons were kicked off of Earth in the first place.

It had taken quite a bit to come to that. Dirty dealings. Research into the most arcane of demonic law. Favors asked for and paid for in blood. Sacrifice. Then he would have to deal with what Ares might want were he to deploy his armies on Earth. While less ambitious than most of the old deities, Ares sought conflict in all things. Xander would have to come up with a way to deal with Ares' presence amongst the power structure if that happened. Still it was better than what some of the Powers that Currently Were did. What they allowed their children to do because it was in the best interests of humanity. What they would definitely try to do again due to the wound that the other side had so recently sustained. A dirty business he had found himself in.

He heard a noise at the door. A key scrape and a turned knob. Someone was opening it.

"Xander?" Came the voice, softly. He could tell who it was.

He turned his head and looked at Vi. The light in the hallway around her made a sort of aura. He turned back to staring at nothing.

She closed the door and stepped forward, looking down at him. "Why are you sitting in the dark?"

"I like the quiet." Xander said, softly.

She knew him well enough by now that he was in a bad place. While he was able to keep himself together when he was working, it didn't mean that he wasn't affected by what he did. Vi knew that he felt things rather deeply. More than most people in fact. It didn't keep him from doing what he had to though. It just meant that he felt the consequences more than most would. She knelt down.

"I tried to keep you away from it. Did my best." He didn't look at her. "You did good you know. From what Abby said. Watched your side, and even managed to save all of our lives. I'm proud of you."

She tried to take his hand, but he moved it away.

"This is the part where you leave me right." Xander said, turning to look at her. His visible eye was slightly red. "Should have known better right? Once you saw me."

"Xander." She took his hand. He couldn't help but let her. "Don't be an idiot."

"What?" Xander looked confused.

"I already know what you have to do." Vi said, strongly. "I know that you don't like it. You aren't a monster. And I'm not going to let you just push me away."

She punched him in the shoulder. "And stop trying to protect me. You're a better person than you know. To sacrifice what you do. If there had been any other choice you would have found it. It's hard, and it's wrong, but I couldn't be more proud of you. So stop being stupid."

"Ow." Xander said. He looked at her and rubbed his shoulder. "Sorry."

Vi smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him. "Apology accepted. C'mon, let's go do something. I'm hungry."

Xander stood up. He was tired, but when she looked at him like that, he couldn't deny her. He smiled at her. "Okay. There's a restaurant down the street I wanted to try out."

He walked towards the front door, the melancholy that had taken hold of him forgotten for the moment. He knew he'd have to deal with it eventually, but for now he had more important things to do. It wasn't always an easy thing to do what he did, but sometimes it was worth it.

Vi took him by the hand and started to drag him to the door at a faster pace. He laughed, then stopped and grunted. He felt a sharp pain behind his eye and put his hands to his head. He clenched his eye shut and screamed.

Xander fell to the ground. Unconscious.


	40. Chapter Thirty Nine

**Chapter 39: Lockdown**

Willow sat on the rug with her legs crossed. A circle of lit candles surrounded her, casting flickering shades across her face. Her eyes were closed though, concentrating on her task at hand. She was chanting over and over, drawing upon the Earth to empower her spell. Her room at the House was on the bottom floor. It allowed a slightly closer connection to the Earth beneath her.

At her most powerful she would have been able to do this by will alone. Drawing ambient mystical energy into her and storing it for later use. But, no more. That type of magic was harmful. She knew that now. The toll it took on the body to channel so much from within could destroy oneself. Like a fuse that burned out. It was also addictive. To take external energy in the way she had was theft. It corrupted the life magic and to use it was like mainlining crack. The equivalent of a magical speedball.

So she found another way. It was more time consuming and required more effort, but it worked just as well, with less of a price. The Earth provided much of her power now. The power of the Earth, from the mother Goddess flowed into her and powered her endeavors willingly. It was true and good magic. Not at all corrupting. It gave her much more versatility in her working of spells. Astral projection was easy now if she called upon ley lines. It gave her a giant super-battery to call upon, and that made her more powerful than she had been in the past. At any time in the past, for good or evil. Or so her research told her.

When she had achieved the mental state she needed, the red-headed witch let go of her body and floated above the world. She quickly narrowed it down and connected with everyone in her target range. A light touch. It was a crowd and she couldn't tell anything about them, but she quickly found her target. Her long relationship with her target would have allowed her to find him nearly anywhere.

She entered his mind easily. Not expecting a resistance, and not finding one. Only other magic users and some other supernatural creatures had the capacity to develop mental shielding. Or had naturally occurring ones. Xander was neither, and so had nothing to protect him from intrusion. Not that that was the way in which she viewed her connection. She entered and set down lightly inside Xander's mind.

Willow didn't see anything. All around her was complete blackness. No light, no shape, no sound. Nothing at all. Emptiness all around, as far as she could make out. The mindscape of a person was shaped by their personality. Happiness created a heaven. Evil and pain created a hell. From the look of Xander's, he was either the dumbest and dullest person in the world, or dead. It was confusing. Xander may not have been all that bright, but he shouldn't have had nothing there. Especially given his imagination.

She heard faint footsteps behind her. Willow spun around, watching as someone walked into view. It surprised her since she did not feel any sort of presence prior. Not even that of the person she was inside of. It was rather disconcerting. The figure was lit from an ambient light that seemed to come from above. It took a while for the subject to come into range. It was quite a shock to see what was there.

"Hello." Xander said, he looked the witch up and down. The light overhead glinted off of his two eyes. He was dressed rather plainly, in a plaid shirt and blue jeans. Stuff the real Xander used to wear. Hardly what most magicians used for their avatars. "Fancy seeing you here. And with two eyes. Been a while since I've been able to do that. Wow. It's like Willow. In stereo."

"Xander!" Willow exclaimed, surprised to see him. Xander was no wizard and did not have the power to create such a projection. Especially one so detailed. She could see the faded pattern in the pants. A small rip on his shirt. Details that normal magic users didn't bother with. They usually went with the more flashy stuff. Dragons, and glowing angelic forms. "What are you doing here?"

The figure of Xander laughed. It was an ironic statement after all. The two of them, confronting each other in his own mind. And that was the first thing she said. "I could say the same to you. This is my mind anyway. And I don't remember inviting you. But, hey, you're my Willow, so I suppose you're under the impression that you're always welcome."

Willow concentrated on the form in front of her. Her eyes narrowed as she looked into him. What she saw was both beautiful and terrifying. While most magical signatures implanted in a mental avatar were simple faded copies of the aura of the person casting it, though sometimes blurred for security, what she saw was different. It was a bright rainbow of colors all mixed together. It moved as if to an unheard rhythm. The creation of multiple casters working in unison. A particularly brilliant piece of work. She didn't think she'd ever seen the equal, even amongst her own magical creations.

Xander smirked. "I bet you're wondering what you're seeing. Quite confusing isn't it?"

Willow nodded, dumbly. She was ready for an attack, though still wanted to understand what was going on. It was a magical mystery, not something she had seen in a long while. "What are you?"

"What? Don't think I could be Xander?" The figure looked sad, or at least tried to. The twinkle in his eyes, rather unnerving in and of itself, gave him away. "I, or rather he, not good enough to do it?"

"Xander can't do magic." Willow said. It was the truth, of sorts. In fact, Xander could do magic. He had in the past; spells he had participated in which Willow knew about. Spells she had been a part of. But, that didn't count. Not for real magic users. While he had participated in magic spells, he had not been able to cast any of his own in any sort of directed manner. Simple Latin phrasing and their accidental effects didn't mean much in the way of true magic.

"On the contrary. Xander can. Or could, to be more accurate." Xander said. "He chooses not to because he recognizes his limitations. He doesn't have the extreme amount of innate ability to do it like you, nor does he have a natural aptitude towards learning scholarly magic that Giles does. It would take him quite a bit of effort to achieve the merest fraction of your level of power as well as the ease in which you employ it. Effort he needs to save for more important matters. Or should I say I? Rather confusing I imagine. Pronoun use."

Xander walked around her. Checking her form. It was an idealized form, same as Willow's astral form. For him, using Xander as his chosen form of apperance didn't mean much. For someone to break into Xander's mind, meant they already knew who he was. To try to hide that with an alternative form avatar was simply a waste of time. However, for an attacker, one can never be sure that they wouldn't be detected. So the chosen image should not be something that could lead back to the identity of the person looking for answers. At least, that was how real mental warfare worked. Willow could break into Xander' mind easily enough, but had assumed that he would not notice because he had no magical ability. Such was the foolishness of the arrogant.

Besides, the figure could assume any shape it wanted. And with access to Xander's memories, it knew that the best form to pick would be something that would set the intruder, Willow, off balance. That limited the choice to a handful. The current form topped the list in the present situation.

Xander shrugged. "Naw, actually I should say him. I'm not Xander. But, given that I have access to all he is, I'm about as close as you're going to get in here."

"What are you?" Willow said again. She started to concentrate harder, collecting energy to form into offense and defense. She tried another scan. It didn't reveal anything more than what she already knew. "You don't talk like Xander."

"A mental construct. Which you would have figured out in time." The form said. He narrowed his eyes a bit, feeling the build up of magical pressure. The empty scape around them meant that not much could be hidden. Nothing there to hide behind. Nothing to mask any spells. Any sort of magical buildup, given the lack of any potential shielding from the environment, would be detected. It was chosen for a reason, not just because it wouldn't allow any tips on the mental state of the host. "You can consider me, um, a firewall. If that term is correct. I detect and prevent unauthorized intrusions, and allow authorized presences. Something which you are not."

"I can take other forms too." The figure said, glowing and then transforming into another man. It was Giles.

"I can be anything I want." It flashed again. A large demon. A Klingon. "Not just humanoid either."

The form became a centaur. Then a lion. It spoke in an Irish accent. "Watch out. I'm not a tame lion. And I'm on the move."

It roared, and then flashed again. Tara. Kennedy. Jenny. Back to Kennedy. The figure looked down, and cupped her own breasts. "This form ain't too shabby. I can see the appeal."

It twisted around. "And I have a nice ass. I could get used to this one."

"Stop it!" Willow shouted. "What are you?"

"Kennedy" flashed again, and returned to Xander's form. He looked at her, frowning. No fun at all. "Like I said, a firewall."

"A firewall?" Willow questioned. Still angry at the figure for the forms it had taken. "Xander couldn't make something like that."

The figure shrugged again. "I know what Xander knows. And between you and me, he ain't the best with computers. The reference could be wrong. I don't talk like Xander because just because I'm made from parts of him, doesn't mean that's everything I am. And you're right, Xander couldn't make me. He's no magician. Not like you. And he certainly doesn't have the patience to try to do it the hard way. Course, neither would you I suppose."

"So someone made you?" Willow crossed her arms over her chest. "You're here to keep me out?"

"No." The construct stated. "I'm here to keep everyone out that doesn't have permission to enter Xander's mind. Given what Xander knows, certain people think he needed an added level of protection. Couldn't let any garden variety Emma Frost go rummaging around in this ol' dustbin. That's just lax security. And I highly doubt that most people attempting to, will be polite enough to leave when asked."

"And you think you can stop me?" Willow said, falling into an argument with the figure. It was only one part of its programming. And more time spent talking was less time spent on finding a way around the defense. She wouldn't fall for it though. She started to run through her list of mental combat techniques. Attempting to determine what best to use to dissipate the form in the front of her.

Xander looked at her again. His gaze fell slowly over her body, taking all of it in, like he had X-ray vision. It unnerved the young witch, who fidgeted slightly at the intimate gaze. He looked into her eyes.

"No." He said. "I can't stop you. You have quite a bit of power. According to Xander's memories, the most powerful that he has ever seen. More power than I could stop, and certainly enough to destroy me and enter what it is that I protect. I am quite literally, a shadow of what is in front of me."

Willow smiled. Triumphant in the acknowledgement of her ability. She started to send out mental probes into the blackness. Testing for weakness. All she felt was uniformity. "So you really can't stop me, can you? So why don't you just leave?"

"Do I need to try?" Xander asked. "Is this the way it is for the two of you? For you to not trust him, or allow him the chance to speak his piece? So you try this invasion? Are you so willing to cast aside your history because you question his motives?"

"If you know what Xander does, then you know what he said to me." Willow said, grumpily. "He's gotten in too deep and it's up to me to bring him out of it. He isn't himself anymore."

"You're right. I do know what he said to you. It was rather harsh." The avatar admitted. He crossed his arms as well, meeting Willow's stance. He gathered more strength from within. More walls were added around the existing blackness. He could feel the attempts to breach. They could not be allowed to do so. "But, it had more truth than you want to admit."

"What would he know?" Willow said, angrily. Remembering what had happened in the past. When Xander had visited during the past year or so. It hadn't gone well. The arguments. How she should not use magic anymore. How she hadn't attained the wisdom to equal her power. Like she didn't know enough to use her abilities. Like someone without could possibly understand. "How could he talk to me about what I'm much more experienced in?"

"Not much. Xander's gone through quite a bit to get what he has now." The figure said. "And a lot of knowledge from people smarter than him. He was rather screwed up by what he learned, so I'm not going to be particularly critical of what he said to you."

"Oh, and what was that?" Willow challenged.

Xander looked up, going beyond what was the simple back and forth required yet more energy. And effort to determine how much to reveal. This one was different. The threat analysis had been particularly detailed in this case given Xander's unique understanding of the assailant. It required a much more deft touch than what most saw. "Very well. As addicted to the power that magic gave you in the past, you believe that you have now moved beyond that."

"I have!" Willow broke in, nearly stomping her foot down petulantly. She attempted to concentrate her attentions at one spot. The area she believed the light was coming from. Perhaps it was a weak area that could be bypassed. She used the conversation as cover for her covert actions. At least, that was what she believed.

"That may be right, but it's not the whole truth." Xander partly conceded. A simple thought and the light switched from above to below. It threw the witch off guard for a moment, but she recovered well. "In truth, the problem was never the magic. It's a tool. Some of it can take its toll and requires much on the part of the user, but the simple fact of it is, that magic isn't addictive. It was never the magic. It was the power of it. The potential. It was, quite frankly, you."

"What?" Willow exclaimed. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" The figure said, raising his eyebrows. "I know as much as Xander does. Including what he has been told. Those two shamans that the female Agent Finn mentioned to you? You don't know how wrong she was. They didn't get consumed because magic's addictive, they got consumed because Argent and Hanzo were wannabes that never would have hacked it in any legitimate unit. They were poseurs. They got in too deep, because they pretended to be something they weren't. Truth, they probably thought they actually were good enough to be running with the big dogs. Seems like that's been going around."

Willow looked perturbed at that, and surprised at "Xander" remembering something she had mentioned to him a couple of years ago. She missed the not so subtle insult.

"Xander" smiled at her. Amused by the expression on the other avatar's face. "Please. I have access to all of Xander's memories, those include when Xander was looking through Initiative reports. Coupled with the dossiers that the government did not have at the time on certain esoteric elements, including two shamans that were hired on the fly. The Initiative is small time. They never could find anybody in the know that was competent. A shame really, they had some amount of potential."

"What does that have to do with me?" Willow asked. Part of her wanted to let the avatar keep talking, more than just because she was trying to find her way in. She was learning something after all. The most disturbing part of it was how blasé Xander, or at least one aspect of him, had become.

"A year or so ago, you threatened the world with magic. Xander came to you with nothing." He said. "No powers. No magic. Nothing at all. Despite what you had done. He talked you down. He saw his friend, his best friend, in danger and in all kinds of hurt, and he talked you down. Even though you injured him a fair bit. You hurt him, and he tried to help you."

Willow glared at him, her eyes growing darker. Literally. "What does that have to do with this?"

"That right now, you think that Xander is in danger. That he is in all kinds of hurt that makes him lash out as he has. Hurting the ones he should care about. The others. You." The construct replied. "Yet, instead of trying to come to him as a friend, to talk to him, you break into his mind. You attempt to use magic to simply find that "something" is wrong with him. So that you can fix it. Probably not with magic this time, at least directly. But, still, you're using magic to make things easier so you can have "your" Xander back. Because, he doesn't deserve the respect to even be consulted about what's going on with him. Instead of trying to help him, you decide to just fix him. Because it's easier that way, and because you're so sure you're right about what he should be."

"He is in trouble." Willow stated, resolute. "And that's why I'm here."

"You're right. You're absolutely right." The figure confirmed. "He needs all kinds of help. And "his" Willow would be someone that could help him. Because right now he needs someone to hug him, and to help him through things. Not fix him."

"Xander" looked up again. Time was running out. Running a full shield with a mental block on Xander's active and passive thoughts plus memories took quite a bit of energy. And with no innate magical ability in the host, it meant that it was hooked up to only Xander's life energy. His soul. And that was a finite resource. Especially given how fractured it had become during his days on the Hellmouth. "You thought the problem was the magicks. It wasn't. Magic can do all sorts of things. Good things. Harry Potter's all about using magic in all sorts of frivolous ways, and it doesn't cause them to lose it. And yes, he's read them, stop looking at me like that. You tried to fix Buffy. It let the First Evil come back. You tried to fix Tara. And you went all Dark Side on us. All those things led you to try to fix the world by making everything end. All those things you think need fixing? Why'd they keep going wrong? Because you didn't go far enough? Or because you couldn't see what the real problem was. Warren? Should have killed him before he became a real threat. But, no. You had to go on the warpath after the fact. Course, Xander didn't go after him earlier either, so I shouldn't be too critical. Still though. Trying to fix the world? You ever consider that maybe the one that needed fixing, was you?"

Willow looked startled at that revelation. She thought about what she had done at Giles' behest. Though that wasn't an excuse. Xander was her oldest friend along with Jesse. They shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other. He shouldn't have kept things from her. Her Xander wouldn't have done it. And he certainly wouldn't have kept Jesse from her. He should have told her about him. "If I was the problem, then why would Xander keep making mistakes? He killed innocent people. He's keeping Jesse locked up. Probably tortured. Whatever Jesse's done, he doesn't deserve that!"

"Yes. He has killed innocent people. He has done many things in the name of making the world safer." Xander said, calmly. "Questionable things. Same as you I suppose."

"Excuse me?" Willow exclaimed. "I may have done some bad things in my evil phase, but I'm past that now."

"Right. Because anything you say is good, has to be." Xander said sarcastically. "Remember the slayers you created? How you could feel them? Did you just stop feeling them when they started dying because nobody was there to help them through it? When nightmares they didn't understand started going after them simply because you thought you could make them better? Fix 'em? Or maybe you still do feel it. You just don't give a shit anymore."

"We had no choice!" Willow shouted, her cheeks were reddening beneath the glow. And her hair turned dark.

"Now you know how Xander feels." The avatar said, as calm as before. "The only difference is, it's always been the last resort for him. And he had no delusions that he was doing the right thing. He wasn't fixing things, he was just making sure things didn't get any worse. Cause at this point, that's about all that can be hoped for. Make no mistake, you're already halfway down the hole, it'll take some doing before you're in any shape to strike back. This ain't helping things."

Willow was stunned. She had assumed that Xander had fallen hard, had lost his way and all direction between what was right and what was wrong. That people didn't matter. She knew now that to him they did. It was just that some things had to matter more. "And Jesse then?"

"Right. Well, he didn't think you'd handle that well. Given his lack of a choice of what to do with him. Information is needed. Information is key to this fight, and right now Jesse's just about the only source we got. So he's being pushed hard." Xander shrugged. "He didn't think you'd handle that well either. Coupled with what Xander, who you can consider the soft one on this...well, let's just say he didn't want you having to face what was inevitably going to happen. Especially since you still seem to be under the impression that just because he may be your friend, doesn't mean he doesn't have some of what's going to happen, coming to him. Xander was there, remember? He knows that Jesse's crossed to the other side. And the nature of this war requires what's about to happen. Xander knows it. And he accepts it, even if he doesn't like it. And you can't change what's going to happen to your old friend. He thought he was protecting you, cause you won't accept it. Rightly or wrongly."

"So, what am I supposed to do now?" Willow asked. She grew suspicious though. All the talk was wasting time. She felt her physical body start to tense up. There wasn't much time to accomplish her task. The truth that the figure before her had spoken was momentarily forgotten. She sent out a large energy wave through her form, leaving the defensive construct untouched lest it grow suspicious and try to move offensively. Not recon, but an active, yet still covert attempt. No more Miss. Nice Wicca.

Xander looked up again. It drew more energy to itself strengthening its defenses yet again, preparing for an onslaught, though it showed no reaction. The soft approach wasn't working. According to Xander, Willow might have been able to be talked out of it, like she had before. Evidently not. Or he just wasn't that great at it. "I see what was just said isn't enough to convince you of the errors of your ways."

A wind started blowing in the distance. A distant keening could be heard, but barely made out.

"Maybe there is some truth to what you said. But, I have a job to do. No matter the cost." Willow said, hard. "I'm sure the both of you understand that. If Xander's so adamant about doing what's necessary."

"I do." Xander said. The wind grew louder. "You know what I'm for. What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?"

"We need information. On what Xander is doing." Willow said. It was safe enough to give that up at least. The wind grew even stronger as she tried to break through the blackness surreptitiously. She nearly had to shout. "To help him. To get him away from those awful people. Twisting him."

"And this is the way you accomplish that?" Xander said, only a bit louder. He could barely be heard over the wind.

"What is that noise?" Willow shouted to be heard.

Xander stepped forward, close to her in order so that she could hear him. "What, don't you know? You're the one that's doing it after all."

He waved his hand, and a light appeared in the blackness. The yellow light coalesced into the form of a window. Beyond it was the world outside. It showed Xander. On the ground. He was unconscious. Yet, still screaming. Writhing in obvious pain.

Willow was stunned. Disbelieving.

"What you're doing." Xander said, loudly. Repeating himself. "I'm defending against. And it's eating him up. There are things he knows that nobody else should ever get to. Truthfully, some of its stuff he doesn't want to burden you with. And my purpose is to make sure nobody is able to breach his mind. And, well, I have all sorts of means to make sure that doesn't happen."

"What?" Willow shouted in confusion.

"Don't you get it?" Xander yelled back, the wind growing yet again. "I'm killing him. All the energy I'm using to keep you out, is from him. I can't beat you. A strike against you would only displace me faster, and leave my host open to attack. I can only delay you enough to expend all of his energy. To blank his entire soul so that not even you can bring him back to force him to talk. Total wipe. To destroy his very essence from all existence."

Willow's eyes grew wide at that thought. That she was killing Xander in trying to help him. By trying to take the easy way out. By trying to fix him. She let her magic drop. The wind started to die down.

She fell to her knees. To kill Xander. To keep her out. It was a heady notion. "I…I never meant to."

Xander looked down at her. Sympathetic. "I know. But, that's the thing isn't it. It's not about the things we mean. It's about the things we do, and what happens after. Your magic. It isn't a bad thing. All kinds of people use magic all over the place and don't get addicted. It's the notion that you have power. That you have power and that means that you should get to decide reality because of it. Because somehow, you know better than everyone else."

"Isn't that what Xander's doing? With Jesse and the others?" Willow asked. Not quite ready to just give up.

"No. He decides because he has no choice." The figure said. "After he goes through all of the possibilities. You, on the other hand, along with Giles, decide the most expedient path, without worrying about the consequences. Just because you have the power, or some knowledge that others don't. That doesn't mean that what you decide has to be the way. Is the best way. But, that doesn't even occur to you before you try this. Knowledge isn't wisdom."

He pointed to the window again. Xander was still on the floor, but not screaming anymore. Still moaning though. Scratching at his chest now, to expel something within. Vi hovered over him, worried. "Or is this what you wanted?"

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Author's Note: Bolo: Way I see it, Janus is too fickle, given his chaotic nature in the Buffy-verse. With Ares, it's like a constant storm. Xander knows it's trouble, but he knows which way the wind blows. And in truth, they're both kind of playing each other. And Ares, sees something of a kindred spirit in Xander that he hasn't seen in a long time, and so makes allowances that he wouldn't for other mortals.

Thanks for the reviews.


	41. Chapter Forty

**Chapter 40: The Things We Carry**

Xander stumbled to his feet. He coughed loudly. Vi supported him as he lurched towards the countertop.

He looked at her, and smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"What happened?" Vi was clearly concerned. She wondered if they needed to arm up, in preparation for a physical fight. The slayer wasn't exactly sure what happened, only that her boyfriend had been hurt, maybe attacked.

He took a step back, away from his slayer girlfriend. He recognized the expression on her face. She wanted to break something. Likely what had just thrown him for a loop. "Give me a second."

He closed his eye and pinched the bridge of his nose. He clenched in anticipation. He was hit by a surge which shook through his body. Memory dump. Including analysis of the last attempted breach. It was always painful. Fortunately the insertion hadn't been successful. Unfortunately, he'd just gained the identity of the perpetrator. It was Willow.

That wasn't altogether unexpected. However, given the speed, he wondered if Willow had been in the room when he'd been debriefed. It was a fairly scary notion. One that he'd have to bring up with the boys up top. Their magical defenses needed some major shoring up. Willow had gotten too close. And going into full scuttle mode had happened to quickly. Even less powerful spells should have held better and given him more time.

"Xander." Vi stepped to him and cupped his cheek. She looked him in the eye. "Do we need to leave?"

Xander sorted through the memory. Especially the bit at the end. "I think we need to."

Xander grabbed his bag on the counter and gave it Vi. She slung it over her shoulder as Xander let get of her.

He stumbled a bit towards the small table that was in the hallway to the front door. He leaned down a grabbed a bag underneath. His go bag. A number of weapons and other gear in case he ever needed to make a quick exit. Vi followed him, taking him by the waist to make sure he didn't fall over again.

He pulled a handgun from it and put it in his waistband at the small of his back. He passed another to Vi who did the same.

They walked down the hall quickly. Vi looked at him again. "What was that?"

"Someone tried to read my mind." Xander said. He reached into the bag and pulled out a set of car keys. He put them in his pocket.

"You know who it was?"

They walked down the hallway towards the way out. Vi started down the right hand turn, but Xander held her back. The elevators weren't the best choice. Vi knew that, but had been concerned that he couldn't make the trip down in his condition. He led them towards the stairs on the other side. On his way to it, he pulled the fire alarm.

He clenched his jaw as he turned to her. "It was Willow."

They started down the stairs in a hurry, thought they let some of the other inhabitants go first. He peeked through the small window in the fire door as well as the mirror mounted on the opposite side of the parking garage to make sure it was clear of any potential attackers. There wouldn't be any slayers though. Vi would have felt them. He was probably being overly cautious, but one could never be too careful.

"What?" Vi exclaimed, though quietly. They made their way through the door and towards Xander's emergency car. A dark colored sedan. It was fairly inconspicuous and wouldn't draw attention on the surface. Underneath, it had been heavily tuned to make sure it could out maneuver nearly any pursuer. A number of weapons had also been situated in the vehicle at different positions.

"Let's just go first." Xander pulled the keys out and deactivated the security system. He bent down to unlock the door, but Vi pulled them from his hand. A good move since he probably wasn't in the best state to drive.

She unlocked the door and got in the driver's seat. Xander went around front and got in as well. She started the car. "Where to?"

"The Garden." Xander said. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out an energy bar. He wolfed it down, pulling out another one. While still a bit out of it, he was starting to feel better. "We should still get something to eat. Better than this anyway."

She pulled out on her way out of the garage. "What? You were just attacked, Xander. If they're coming after you, then we need to get the rest of the girls and do something about it."

"No." He looked at her. "They're not going to come after us. Willow is going to try to find me. Alone. I'm pretty sure at least. We need somewhere public, and somewhere not here. Keep at the speed limit, we don't want to get pulled over."

Vi nodded, headed towards the Italian restaurant. They'd been there before, and it was a nice casual date place. By the time they would get there, it would have a fair number of people, but not completely full. It also made little sense to her, but Xander had shown that he was to be trusted in terms of tactical decisions.

Xander pulled a cell phone from the glove compartment as well. He dialed the restaurant and made reservations for two for half an hour. It'd take them about that long to get there.

"What's happening?" Vi asked, when he was finished. "Willow tried to break into your mind? Why?"

"I don't know. Giles probably put her up to it. But, she ended up stopping herself. Harvey did his job well. Talked her down." Xander rubbed his neck, trying to relax. It was hard to, given the circumstances, but he needed to stay loose if he wanted to react quick enough to the unforeseen. "She's pretty screwed up right now, and I'm thinking she's going to come to talk to me. Some stuff about the past, so she'll be doing her darndest to find us. The more public, the less likely she'll be to react badly if anything goes wrong."

"Why do you think she's coming to us?" Vi got onto the highway, heading towards the restaurant.

"Hopefully, to apologize." Xander took a small box out of his bag. He turned away from his girlfriend and took off his eyepatch, shoving it into his pocket. He opened the box and pulled out a fake eye and inserted it into his empty socket.

Vi glanced over at him. "You don't have to do that Xander. Turn away. You don't."

Xander looked down, then at her. He reached over and touched her leg. "Thanks."

"Why do you think she's coming to us to apologize?" Vi got back on topic. She knew that Xander, while normally not sensitive about the injury, usually tried to shield her from it. To try to look out for her. It was one of those aspects that she loved about him. Though, it also meant he tried to bottle too many things inside. And try to push people away. That part of it annoyed her. Especially when it involved pushing her away.

"I think the part where I was on the ground screaming like a little girl had something to do with it." Xander replied. He reached into his bag again and start pulling out some other gear, putting it into place on his body. "I think she's always been more vulnerable when she's had to see the direct results of her actions. That's what made her stop. Unless of course I'm getting it all wrong and she's really coming after me to bring me in. The thing in my head isn't exactly a standard option when it comes to brains. I imagine when the others find out, they'll be pretty interested in where I got that done."

"How did you get that anyway? You never told me." Vi glanced at him as she pulled off the highway, towards the restaurant.

"The witches in South America. Laid the big time mojo on me when they decided that I was worth working with. Didn't want me leaking any secrets to every telepath or psychometrist out there." Xander answered. It hadn't been a pleasant experience. And had its own share of risks. Mainly him getting his head even more scrambled than it is. Still, it was one of those things he'd had to accept if he wanted them as allies. The idea of someone else crawling around in his head wasn't exactly a comforting notion. He'd had things in his head before. Not usually something to go for seconds on.

"The Sisters? The hot ones?" Vi echoed. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She'd seen some of the women in that coven in South America. Some hot women messing around with her boyfriend's head. She wondered if they had to go skyclad to do the spell.

"Uh, there's just no way I can answer that correctly is there?" Xander glanced at her, smirking. "But yes, fairly attractive. I guess. Not that I was looking even though it was before we started going out. Besides, you're the only super powered girl for me."

"Bet your ass I am." Vi smiled. She pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, pulling in the space front outward for ease of exit.

Xander got out of the car. He took his bag with him, and made sure that the equipment he had taken with him was sufficiently hidden. The other one was left in the car. "Truthfully, I think they'd be more interested in getting to know you better."

Vi smirked at that. "They're lesbians? Or bi?"

"Or just really really affectionate with each other. Kind of a cliché though, I guess." Xander stopped what he was doing and looked at her, eyes narrowing. "Why?"

Vi had a wry smile on her face as she got out of the car too. Mysterious in the ways that females can be. "No reason."

She walked away, heading towards the entrance of the Italian restaurant where they would find out exactly where they stood with the Council. Xander watched her go. Wondering if she was throwing a bit of sway into her walk. "Wait. What?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were seated quickly. While they had reservations, Xander had gone there before and had tipped heavily to ensure that he could expect the best of service if the need arose. Though it wasn't the most expensive of places, it still was a quality establishment. One that allowed him a bit of extra play in choosing his table. One where his back was to the wall, and near an emergency way out. And enough space to include an extra person or two at the table, along with his "things."

His private cell vibrated in his pocket after they had ordered. He pulled it out and checked it. It was Richard. Him calling on that line wasn't a social thing. And wasn't something that could wait, unfortunately. Xander excused himself and walked towards the bathroom, making sure to keep an eye on the table and on the front entrance just in case.

"What's up?" Xander said, answering the phone.

"We need to meet." Came the reply. Richard sounded serious.

"Uh, this really isn't a good time." Xander said quietly. He wondered where the faerie was. After losing the mysterious woman in Cleveland, Richard had left to try to track her down elsewhere. Likely in the Faerie realm. He hadn't been there before, but word was that it had plenty of places to hide. Especially if one was a native. "You have a lead on who we were chasing last time?"

"No." Richard replied. "It's Thomas. I've been tracking his movements too. And there's an opportunity to take him. But, I'll need you there too. Things have gotten complicated."

"What kind of complicated?" Xander started to pay more attention to the conversation. It was something he had wanted for a while. Once Buffy had gotten involved, it had been something he had tried to actively maneuver a place into after Richard had asked for information. This could be his chance. Too bad there were other concerns.

"The kind involving slayers." Richard said. While he was quite willing to work alone, things had gotten such that it would better serve the purpose of his queen to bring the human in. Not only because of the slayers involved, but also for other reasons. Reasons the young human did not know about. "Xander. I wouldn't be calling you now if there wasn't a good reason for you to get involved. I know the work you do."

Xander paused. Thinking about the situation, and exactly how much time he could spare. Given the whole Willow and the Council situation, and then Jesse's interrogation. And then the whole saving the world thing. There wasn't that much time for other things. Still, Richard wouldn't have called if it wasn't important. "What's the timeframe?"

"Five days. New York in five days. We need to meet and discuss the specifics." Richard said. He didn't want to say anything more over the phone. As secure as it may be, there were always ways around even the best encryption.

"Okay." Xander said at last. He thought about how he had to work things in order to find the time to get away. And it used to be so simple. "Okay. I'll call you later tonight. I'll figure something out."

"Don't wait too long Xander." Richard said. "There are lives at stake as long as he is allowed to walk free."

Richard hung up. Xander looked at his phone and then put it in his pocket. He didn't need to be reminded about innocent lives when it came to the Immortal walking free.

Xander returned to his table, taking a seat as he noticed Vi's troubled expression. "What is it?"

"What's wrong, Xander?" Vi said. She had watched Xander talking in the hall near the bathroom. He didn't look especially pleased when the phone call had ended.

"Something I have to deal with." Xander said. He wished he could tell her more. But, some secrets had to stay that way. It killed him to do it though. "It's not important right now."

Vi didn't look like she believed that. The waiter came in, not giving her the chance to follow up. He placed their food onto the table. Extremely quick, but there weren't that many people in there. And Xander was a very good customer. He asked if there was anything they needed, but a quick shake of Vi's head sent him away.

"Xander." Vi said, in a measured tone.

He looked at her, trying to determine how he should answer. "I'll tell you about it. If I can. Okay?"

Vi relaxed. She knew that there was a lot Xander couldn't talk about. Not just because of his own psyche, but for other reasons as well. Legitimate ones. "Okay. For now."

Xander started to eat. Trying to enjoy the meal with his girlfriend. He wondered though, how Willow was looking for them. If she was flying towards them, or driving. Or if she was teleporting somehow. The pasta was good at least. Thick sauce with plenty of seafood.

"Tell me about Cordelia." Vi said, in between bites of her own food. Trying to come up with something to say, even though she was more worried about their current set of circumstances.

Xander looked at her. Somehow she had managed to find the exact thing not to say when he was eating. He swallowed his bite painfully. "Uh, I don't think this is really the time for it. I'm pretty sure Willow's going to be able to find us here soon."

"I know. But, I don't know if we're going to get the time to talk about it. And I think you need to." Vi said, looking at him with a concerned expression on her face.

"Alright." Xander replied. Guess there was no time like the present. "Cordelia. Cordelia was, well, she was Cordelia. Okay, that was lame. Cordelia was a vapid, self-absorbed, shallow bitch. That came out wrong."

"And you went out with her why?" Vi asked. She had heard of Cordelia before. But, not much actual history from those that knew her. Not the most pleasant of things when she was one of her boyfriend's exes.

Xander looked at her. "Truth, it was mostly physical at first. I mean, almost getting killed and all, and facing death at every turn. So we went at it a bit. It grew from there. Kind of. After she dumped me because I was low down on the social pecking order."

Vi frowned. Certainly not the most mature of relationships.

"So we got back together, cause she realized she had outgrown her rather shallow friends. She became something of a better person. And we ended up actually caring about each other. I hear she became quite the champion in LA. I guess it was always in her to be." Xander continued. Probably saying some things he shouldn't. But, Vi deserved the truth. "But, back in Sunnydale I screwed it up by cheating on her with Willow."

"I know about that part." Vi replied. It had come out more fully some time after Xander had left, though Anya had mentioned some things in passing back in Sunnydale. Stories about the veterans from the front lines of Sunnydale were always passed around, Xander usually included for some reason. They were like local celebrities when it came to gossip. It was intimated that it was Xander's fault, but it took more than one person to cheat. And it was years ago. Xander had certainly changed. And the way he looked at her convinced her of his honorable, though hardly pure, intentions. "Why did you do it?"

Xander sighed. "Truthfully. I don't know. I could rationalize it by saying that her rather shoddy treatment of me, even after we had gotten back together pushed me into the arms of someone that actually cared. But, I can't honestly say that was the reason. I guess, back in high school, it was just a high school thing. Hormones and all that. Some of the feelings were there, but we really weren't in love with each other. I guess we just weren't ready for a real relationship. Maybe it could have grown into something, given a chance. Or, maybe Jesse was right and we were nudged into breaking up. That it was never meant to be. But, that's the past."

"And now?" Vi wasn't all that nervous about their relationship. Xander was an adult, not some kid prone to emotional mistakes. And while she had little experience, she knew what she felt. And she knew that Xander would never do anything to hurt her.

"I'd like to think I've grown as a person. Even got me a six pack now." Xander smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Xander." Vi said, in a familiar tone.

"Now, I have the person I think I'm supposed to be with." Xander said, more smoothly than he was used to. "I know I haven't been with you that long, but…"

"I love you too." Vi smiled at him. She watched as he tried to keep himself from grinning like an idiot. Or blushing. She saw the smile fall. He was looking over her shoulder. She looked behind her, and the redheaded witch that was trying to get past the waiter at the restaurant's entrance.

Xander raised a hand while putting the other into the bag on the seat next to him. "Willow! Over here."

He watched as the witch looked over at them, surprised. She walked over rather hesitantly. She looked a bit tired, but he didn't know if that was because of the magic, or because of emotional stress.

Willow took the empty seat next to the slayer. She noticed that the other woman glared at her. It seemed rather clear that the slayer knew what she had done. She fidgeted a bit, nervously. "Xander. Vi."

"Get what you were looking for?" Xander said. He smiled, trying to keep up appearances. Like a group of friends meeting each other by accident.

Willow couldn't meet his eyes. Slightly disturbed by the fact that he had two of them. Too familiar with what she had seen in his head. "No. But, I think you know that."

"Don't worry. I'm not angry." Xander said, still smiling. It was thoroughly off-putting.

"I am." Vi grumbled. She glared at Willow again, wanting nothing more than to rip her head off. But, that probably wouldn't go over to well with the owners of the place.

"Vi." Xander chided his girlfriend a bit. "Willow did nothing less than what I would have expected to happen. Given all I've done, only a complete moron would not anticipate something to occur in response."

Willow looked at Xander in surprise. "What?"

Xander looked back at her, still smiling. "I admit, I did not anticipate the whole being in the room at the same time thing. Though, you've done the whole invisibility thing in the past. Should have caught that. That's my fault."

He noted as Willow seemed surprised that he had caught what had happened. Given Willow's reaction inside his head about Jesse and the rather quick timeline between the end of his meeting and the attempted breach, it was likely she wasn't fully briefed, but rather had been in the room. He had had no direct evidence, just a hunch. A hunch that clearly paid off. It seemed that the Council was learning some of the game. Still, rather amateurish. Not getting any information was one thing. They couldn't all be closers. But, getting caught was something else.

"This is the business we do. Very dark, very unpleasant." Xander said, turning serious. "Everything we do, everything we do it to. It comes back on us. Stopping the Master. Led to other things. Different powers thinking they could fill up the vacuum. You know what I mean?"

Willow shook her head. Not really getting where Xander was going with things. A waiter came by, but Xander brushed him off with a wave of his hand. He made sure it wasn't his left one though. With a flick of a finger, and a pull of his hand, he had made it something to be careful with.

Xander looked at her once the waiter had left, wondering how to phrase things. "Okay. It's like this. You work in witchcraft. The big bad Wicca. The mojo. Right?"

Willow nodded.

"I deal in tradecraft. Guns. Explosives. Black bag ops. False flags." Xander said. He talked quietly. "It's less different than you think. Just another way of making the world spin your way."

"I don't get what you're talking about." Willow grumbled, still ashamed at what she had done. Even more unnerved by Xander's lack of reaction. Oblivious to the gun in his left hand.

"You're supposed to be Wiccan right?" Xander asked, ignoring her question for now.

Willow nodded. Xander knew that already.

"From what I read, you have the Rule of Three. Threefold rule or whatever you call it. Karma." Xander continued. "I work for, what is in essence, an intelligence operation. A highly funded, highly motivated intelligence organization. And one of the first things that's drummed into your head is the concept of blowback. Unintended consequences of covert operations. Everything and I mean everything comes back on you. Get me now?"

Willow nodded, rather hesitantly. She knew some of what had come back on her. The thing that had attacked them after bringing Buffy back. The First. Her going dark led to her trying to blow up the world. "Why aren't you angry?"

"Because, the fact of the matter is that at the level of the game we're at, you should still be able to see them. And then determine whether or not it's still worth it." Xander replied. "You did exactly what I thought might happen. Admittedly, I would have thought a more civilized approach would have been attempted first, but this was not altogether unexpected. I'm not angry. I'm not, because it's something I would have done as well."

Willow opened her mouth in shook at that revelation.

"The only difference is that while I may do it, I get results. And I go in knowing exactly what the results of my actions will be." Xander said, ignoring her reaction. "Blowback. The truth is, you should have known better. And you should have anticipated that I would have been prepared."

"But, you can't do magic." Willow stated, as if that explained something. She was unnerved and off her game. Not the best situation to be in when trying to figure things out.

"So?" Xander said, not answering the unspoken question. And avoiding getting drawn into explanations. "That's got nothing to do with it. We're not kids, and you can't play this without thinking about the moves ahead. Without knowing what to be prepared for. Even if you can't see exactly what it'll be."

"So where does that leave us?" Willow asked, hopeful at Xander not being angry. While she had realized that she was wrong to break into his head, she knew that both of them knew that she still should and would have gone to him, for one reason or another.

"A year ago, I met some people." Xander said, looking past the women in front of him. "They showed me the future. They showed me a future. A future where there were no demons and vampires. Where there was no anger and hatred. No sadness. Sounds pretty good right?"

Willow nodded. She wondered where he was going with this.

"But, there was no happiness either. No love. No joy. Just endless waves of automatons. Biological robots." Xander continued. "People that had whatever made them people taken out of them. Fixed. By someone that thought they knew better. That they could make people, better."

Xander looked at the witch. "Years from now. A multitude of deaths. Destruction. Narrowly avoiding the end of the world, a powerful mage somehow gets the idea that maybe, just maybe, the world would be better of if they didn't have to make choices anymore. They'd be safe that way. Nothing to worry about. But, nothing to live for. Kind of like Jasmine. Mind controlled slavery. But, oh no, this mage is smarter than that. Is able to justify that they aren't like Jasmine. Nope, no bevy of innocents that are sacrificed in the name of a better world. And the people aren't mind controlled really, just have simple magical suggestions implanted to make them act in certain ways. That this consumes them after a while is just because they want it so much. Want the peace of nonexistence. So obviously, it's not the same. So it's okay."

"What are you getting at?" Willow said, getting the sneaking suspicion that it somehow led to her.

"I think you know. You've always been way smarter than me." Xander replied. "Anyway, everything's connected. I got the chance to go back. To see how it all started. To find a way to change things so things wouldn't go all Days of Future Past on us. Five times. Ten. A dozen. So many times going back into the past. None of them worked. It all led to one simple event. That could have let me change things."

"What was that?" Willow said, thoroughly engrossed in what Xander was saying.

"Kingman's Bluff." Xander said, simply. "It all could have ended there. You pouring out so much magic, a shot to the head to take you down. Magic dissipates. Any time before and the world ends from any number of things we dealt with with your help. Any time after and you heal yourself and just get angry. You die, at the right time and the world is safe. Took me nigh on twenty times to finally be able to do it."

"But, if you changed…" Willow was shocked. That Xander would have killed her. Or had killed her. Or…

"You can't change the past." Xander stated. "It was a glimpse of what was to come if things happened certain ways. If the right butterfly flapped its wings at the right time in the right place. If you decided that your way was the better way. Like you tried to do with me. The problem isn't that you tried to break into my mind. The problem is that you did it because you wanted to fix things without trying to figure out what was wrong. And what the things that need fixing are."

"So where does that leave us?" Xander said, repeating Willow's earlier question. "That depends on you. You are my friend. With Jesse, one of my longest and dearest. And I want to help you. So here's where it leaves us. First, I tell you what happens with Jesse."

Willow nodded again, with little emotion on her face. Inwardly, she was conflicted. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what was going to happen to him.

"Because he likely has information necessary to save the universe, or the little part I like to call Earth, he will be interrogated." Xander stated. "He will be prepped with drugs and other methods to ensure maximum compliance. He will be questioned and his mind will be probed. Likely, invasive telepathic methods will be employed. But, given how good the other side on this is, I suspect it won't work. Likely, Jesse has similar protections to mine. However, they likely are much more dangerous and liable to cause him harm before we can get him to speak. Therefore it falls to other methods of persuasion. Likely not specifically torture as that is prone to failure. But, nonetheless equally unsavory."

Xander noticed Willow's numb expression. "You're wondering how this makes me, or us, different from you. And what you just tried to do. The fact of it is, that it doesn't, not really. This is a nasty business, that requires all sorts of unpleasant people. Okay, the objective difference between us, is that we're better at it. We get results. And those results are employed for better purposes in a more efficient way. The things is, you spend so much time thinking I've changed, and never noticed that you're in the exact same place I am. I'm just honest about it. I have hurt just as many people as you have in your quest to protect the world. Only thing is, I can see the people I've hurt."

Xander glanced at his girlfriend for a moment when he said that. "I feel responsible. And that's what makes the difference. And that's why I can do this and not go over the edge, lose control. Because I know when too far is too much. And what's not far enough. I can disconnect. I can do the necessary things to protect this world. And I can walk away from it. Take my word for it, Jesse's going to break. It's only a matter of when. And as much as I care for him, even now, I know that it's necessary. And I won't do anything to stop it. And the most damning thing about it, is that I can live with that."

"Xander…I" Willow stuttered. "I'm sorry."

"I know." Xander said. "It's not the magic. It's not anything you do, not in this fight. It's why you do it, and what you take with you."

"And finally, it leaves us with this." Xander continued. "I have to go somewhere. To do something I can't tell you about. It's important, for personal and evil stopping reasons. I need you to cover for me with the Council. Hold Giles and Robin back so they don't try to come looking for me. Run interference for me if you must. I am trusting you to do this for me. Can I do that?"

Willow considered what Xander had said. She had been warned about magic before. By Giles. By Tara. By the coven in England. She thought she had control of her magic. In truth, she did. But, all that effort spent to get her to understand the difference between light and dark magic was pointless. It never addressed the underlying issues. Like a healing spell run amok, causing cancer, or a dark torturous spell used to gather lifesaving information, it all depended on context. On intention and the consequences of whatever action was taken. It was never the magic. It was always what it made her think she could do. What it made her think she was. Some kind of earthy mother goddess. Protector rather than destroyer of humanity. Both were true. And neither.

"You can trust me."

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Author's Note: Interesting thing I noticed, shorter chapters got more reviews. Quirky. Anyways, thanks for the feedback.


	42. Chapter Forty One

**Chapter 41: Loose Ends**

"There's been an attempted security breach." Xander spoke into his phone. After he had left Willow he had gone back to his apartment with Vi. He had to think things through for his next job, but he had some loose ends to tie up first. "Willow Rosenberg tried to read my mind. Deep scan from the look of things."

Technically, he should have called as soon as he had reached a safe location. That would have meant though, that a team would have been dispatched. He knew what that entailed. Not something he wanted to have happen. Not yet at least.

"Elimination is the prescribed solution to such things." Grainer replied. It was pretty late, but Grainer was still at work. It could be hard on his family, but it was a lot harder on the world if he wasn't there. "Why do I get the feeling that that isn't why you're calling."

"Because I don't know if we could take her down with our current resources. At least, not without some major casualties. Not without my help at least." Xander replied. He looked at his girlfriend who was watching television on the couch. From her tense body position it was clear she was more interested in what he was doing. "Which of course, isn't going to be something I'm going to be willing to give on this. Not yet. I think she can change. And I think that she can prove very useful in the future. It's worth it to try."

"And in what capacity did you come up with that supposition?" Grainer stated. He knew the facts behind Xander's history with most of the key players of the Council. It was his job to know. Willow's was one of the most complex and yet unchanging of all of them. It could potentially cloud the agent's judgment. That wasn't something he could allow.

"In my capacity as your only field team leader. This isn't about my past." Xander knew what his superior was thinking. It wasn't hard to figure it out. He only hoped that he was right. All the facts supported him on it so far. But, still a heavy part of it was relying on his gut. And that couldn't always be trusted. "But, precautions do need to be taken. I'd suggest we contact the Sisters and see what they can pull up for us. And we need better mystical protection. For all of the personnel. I don't think it's enough to just cover the bases."

"I'll consider it." Grainer thought about what he needed to do. He couldn't afford to alienate Xander by ignoring his recommendation and ordering a hit on his own. However, he also couldn't let a potential slip occur simply because Xander was one of their best men. "We'll do it your way for now. And I agree that we need to refine our security policies. I'll see what I can do about putting some cover on Willow. But, if she slips…"

"I understand, sir." Xander said. He knew what would happen if things didn't go as he foresaw. Or at least how he wanted things to go. The vision of the future could be changed. He just hoped it wouldn't take such drastic measures. He was willing to do them. He had taken such measures in the past. It was never easy. And it was always harder when it was family. "I'll make sure she doesn't."

"See that you do." Grainer said, simply. There was a lot not said. Things that didn't need to be said. They both knew the weight of the things they did. And of what they decided to do. "Anything you want to add to the Arizona operation? I know you didn't have that much time to write it."

"Nothing that isn't already in my report. I put down anything that might prove to be relevant to Jesse's interrogation as well." Xander thought about it for a moment. "Actually, there's one more thing. Klein, the mayor, mentioned knowing Bill Clinton. It could be fake, or just a joke. But, it may prove to be something we should follow up on. Just in case."

"President Clinton?" Grainer asked incredulously. He knew how surreal the supernatural world could be. And how startling, but still. "You must be joking."

"No. There was a picture and everything. I doubt it's anything, but you never know." Xander replied. He'd learned long ago that it paid to be cautious. "I think that's it. I'll call if there's anything else, but my report's pretty thorough."

"Alright. I'll let you know how everything goes." Grainer hung up.

Xander hung up as well. He walked into his bedroom and opened the closet, picking out a large bag. He noticed as Vi came in after him.

"You trust her?" Vi asked, leaning against Xander's drawer. She watched him start to open up drawers, pulling out clothes and tossing them onto the large bed in the center of the room.

"You kidding me?" Xander said, not looking up. "Course I don't. That was way too easy."

Vi was a bit stunned. She had thought that the two had made up. He had asked the witch to cover for him with the Council on why he wouldn't be there in the morning. Also, the information that she had obtained from his mind. Or at least, what Xander said to say. "What?"

"Willow's not a bad person." Xander sighed and turned around. "It's just that she tends to be a bit, I don't know, followerish. She tends to cling I think. When I'm there, she remembers I'm her oldest friend. When it's Giles and the others, she's this super-witch calling the shots. I don't think she'll turn on me so quick though, or that it was a ploy. She's not that crafty. I'd advise some caution. Who knows what's she going to do against those that aren't her oldest friends."

Xander turned back to packing as Vi watched him, contemplating. He'd made the calls he needed to make, including the one to the person he could tell her about, and would be heading out the next day in the early morning. And he was still going strong. It was amazing, even to a slayer. She walked over and pushed some of the clothes to the center of the bed and took a seat. The redheaded slayer wondered where he was going to go, and what he was going to do. "How'd you know it was her?"

Xander stopped and looked back at her. The fact remained that Willow was going to cover for them, for the moment. Weave some tale about what was going on with him. Something along the lines of a vision of the future. An army of darkness bent on taking over the world. It worked when Buffy did it, when she threw away all sense of reason for one of the most illogical plans ever. "What?"

"When she tried to read your mind?" Vi repeated her question. "How'd you know?"

"Ah, that." Xander went back to packing. Some clothes went into the bag and was zipped up. He yawned widely and picked up an empty black duffle bag. He walked out into the hall and opened the door to his workshop. He went to the worktable. Vi followed him. "Well, she didn't try to hide her magical signature. Probably figured I would never find out, so there was no reason to hide it."

"Xander, you don't have any magical ability. So even with the spell in your head, how did you figure it out?" Vi wondered aloud. She watched him unlock a drawer that was set below the table and pull out a lockbox. He looked like he was tired. Guess he was human after all.

"I didn't. It's a pretty full packaged defensive spell. Barrier, some offensive magic, and a pretty full set of detection stuff." Xander worked the dial on the box and opened it. Inside laid a small metallic disc. He picked it up, feeling it in his hand. There didn't seem to be anything special about it. Though that wasn't the truth.

He wasn't a wizard or sorcerer. He could do the odd magic ritual or spell, but it wasn't where his expertise lay. It had taken him a good deal of time to get the thing working properly. Even with the help of some hired technomancers. A lot of sleepless nights. It'd been worth it though. He wrapped it in a piece of scrap silk and placed it into a small leather bag. He put that into the front pocket of the duffle, making sure the small lock on it was securely fastened.

He started loading other equipment into the bag as well. A sterile handgun and a sawed off shotgun. Extra ammo. Iron rounds. Some amulets and talismans. Even a small reliquary. His long guns went into a separate bag that had been stored inside the room, along with an axe. The data that Richard had given him on the Immortal's usual travel arrangements during their conversation earlier meant that he wanted to be extra careful.

Xander closed the bags and slung them onto his back. He walked out and locked the door behind him, heading towards the bedroom again. His now heavy equipment-laden bags went with the other one next to his bed. "From what it dumped into my head, it had a taste of Willow's magic when it was implanted. Basically, when I was checked out by the Sisters' they noticed some residual damage to my, soul. Or spirit. Or whatever life energy thing. From when Willow smacked me around back when she was evil. Harvey knows that, and so can tell what Willow's magical signature looks like. Her intrusion had the same flavor. Couple that with her reactions to some of its forms, and it was Willow."

"I though you didn't have any powers?" Vi asked, wondering if he had lied to her about it. He didn't lie to her. Or at least, not about anything when they were in private. She took a seat on the bed again. Frowning.

Xander turned around again. He sensed the hurt in her voice. He kept secrets from a lot of people. Her included. Went with the job. But, he'd never really lied to her. Now included. "It's an autonomous program. It doesn't give me anything, other than a headache. No nifty powers and no magical senses. Unless it does it a memory dump, which has its own share of risks. It's not really anything super. More of a hassle sometimes. But, it's worth it, I guess. Especially when stuff like this happens. "

He walked over towards her. He didn't have to leave till the morning. He smiled. "But, that doesn't mean I don't have any powers."

He moved in close and pushed her onto her back. "Let me show you."

She giggled as he bent down to kiss her. Guess he wasn't too tired after all.

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"So." Xander said. He sat down at the table. He watched as Richard chanted for a bit, activating a security spell. Xander waited until it was fully set and protected them from unwanted intrusion.

He wasn't happy. It had been a hard drive up to New York for the initial meet. Especially since he couldn't drive much faster than the speed limit. The followup call had only been to ask for a meet. At Richard's current base of operations in New York City. At least it gave him an opportunity to drop off some supplies. "Now, I'm being allowed to go after the Immortal?"

"Basically, yes." Richard replied. He pushed over a small silver talisman in the shape of a dragon's claw. A badge. It would mean that Xander's actions against the Immortal were specifically approved by the Faerie Court. It made him and his actions legitimate in the eyes of Faerie law. At least for the present.

"So, what? You want me to do your dirty work for you?" Xander picked up the badge. He traced the fine work on it. Faerie-made. Very high quality. "If I remember correctly, I had my shot last year. One of your boys stopped me."

"Yes. My hands were tied. I too wanted him remember?" Richard wasn't any happier about the situation than the man seated before him was. He had left Rome after a heated discussion with Xander over what should be done about the Immortal. They had met in Cleveland and had worked together, but some of the developed antagonism followed them there even then. Though both had issues with the renegade Faerie, they also knew that Richard couldn't simply take the fugitive without Buffy kicking up a fuss and causing all sorts of trouble. Even a mysterious disappearance would lead to her asking too many uncomfortable questions. Which meant that ultimately, Xander would have to get involved. Xander wasn't sure if he was glad that Richard was at least asking. As opposed to just making sure that all loose ends were tied up afterwards. In the most permanent way possible.

"So what changed?" Xander asked.

"His deals have gotten consistently more unsavory." Richard sat down at the kitchen table of his rented apartment.

"Right." Xander rolled his eye. "Like those drug deals weren't bad enough? Or maybe it was the soul trafficking that I was going after him about last time?"

"He's dealing in kids now. Sex slavery. Yemen and other parts of the world. Lady Angelina has taken a personal interest in this case. She specifically authorized your inclusion on this once I had informed her of the slayer complication. It took some time, but as you can see, it's all completely above board. There will be no mucking about this time." Richard's view of good and evil was rather different than most Faeries. Even the nominally good ones. He actually cared about what happened. Though much of that was due to fear of exposure and the reaction that could arise if people learned of the Fair Folk through its less savory individuals. Though modern times had allowed most people to forget about the old myths, there were still enough that could make any actions against them unpleasant. Xander especially.

"Do you think that your Buffy's involved?" Richard pressed. It sounded vague, but the implication was perfectly clear.

"She isn't my Buffy." Xander stated instantly. "And no way. As bad as her choices have been in the past couple of years, there's no way she's this far gone. She's never been much of a deep thinker regarding the actions of her past boyfriends. I doubt she even really knows how he makes his money. Or if it ever crossed her mind."

"So what's your plan?" Richard leaned back in his seat. "I assume you must have come up with one of them by now. Just in case."

"My plan?" Xander pointed at himself. "I thought you were bringing him home. You're the one on the hunt. What's your plan?"

"Well, I was considering just attacking him and taking him with me, but I don't think that his girlfriend would appreciate that." Richard said sarcastically. It was clear that he disapproved about those that blundered their way into things without knowing all the facts. "Surely you've come up with some course of action by now."

"Course I have." Xander retorted. Though, inwardly he didn't exactly feel good about the method he had come up with. "It isn't a plan that ends well though. Being a "friend" of Buffy's, I can probably get in fairly close to Thomas without being checked out too closely. Should be enough for me to get the drop on him. I imagine you just want me to make sure Buffy doesn't do anything foolish though."

"Good. He's coming here next week. Gallery opening in New York City. I'm thinking that Tom's going to be bringing his girl with him. That's what he usually does anyway. Flaunt who he is with." Richard ignored the younger man's tone. He would have been angry as well. Richard had insisted on a meet in New York. Which meant that Xander had to drive over 8 hours for what was to be a relatively short meet. It was time consuming, and annoying, but given the necessary operational security, it was something that Xander willingly did. Didn't mean he had to be happy about it though. Nor about the politics of the situation.

"Yeah. But, that's probably going mean she's going to be meeting up with some of the slayers and watchers for them to fawn over her." Xander's opinion of the Slayer had changed over the past year. He didn't specifically blame her for the loss of his eye, but the flippant attitude that she had gained after that had altered his perceptions. In his eight years of fighting, he'd never walked away from it. Buffy had. Three times.

"So what's your idea?" Richard questioned.

"Be my usual charming self." Xander said flippantly. "Finagle an invitation to something small and intimate. And then bag and tag him. You can pick him up for delivery."

"Work out the details on your end." Richard nodded his head. "I'll come up with the anything I can on what his exact plans are in New York."

"Good." Xander made to get up. "I'll keep you posted on what I need."

Richard waited a beat. "There's one more thing."

Xander settled himself in his seat again. "What's that?"

Richard reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small metal tube. He placed it on the table. "What you asked for. Took a while to get it. Mohras aren't the easiest to find anymore now. Quite a few of them got taken out in LA last year. Of course, you already know that."

"That's what now?" Xander looked at the tube with suspicion. "Funny how I didn't ask for it specifically. I made a passing reference to it based on something I read. I didn't make a request to the Faeries for delivery of some, desired object. Certainly not a trade. I don't recall making a deal."

"Delphine worked it for you already. She felt that we needed to make an effort to smooth over relations." Richard understood the suspicions. The Fair Folk had a reputation for complex dealings that favored them over everyone else. And they hadn't treated Xander that well in the past. Despite the trust the two men had when it came to the fight, they did had their differences. The one-eyed man was human after all, and Richard was not. And never would be. "That's all that's useable There's nothing left. You do realize of course, that there is no guarantee that it will work. It's never been used for mental conditions. It might not work as planned."

Xander took the tube. He looked at it. So small a thing for something so important. To one person at least.

"What, no deus ex machina?" Xander smiled. It wasn't a happy one.

"Something like that." Richard replied. He shrugged his shoulders. "There are never any absolutes."

"How much?" Xander knew that nothing ever came free from a Faerie. Ally or not. Friend or not. He remembered when he had mentioned it to Richard. Not a request. Just something interesting he thought of that had some amount of promise. Guess Richard took it to heart. Or at least someone up on the Faerie ladder did.

"It's a gift." Richard said, smiling. He wasn't hurt by the question. It was better that Xander was wary of Faeries, even him. The passing of information was one thing. It kept both their worlds safe. This was something different.

"Like the sourcebook said, never make a deal with a dragon. And never trust an elf." Xander cocked his head. "How much?"

Richard frowned. "We're not elves."

Xander smirked at that. "Close enough. Now again. How much?"

"Alright. The Court has the belief that you have not been treated fairly in the past, despite your show of good will towards us." Richard replied. "This is an attempt at reconciliation. You can consider it a payment for past treatment."

"The Court or the Lady." Xander looked him in the eyes. He could see that the things being said, where being said carefully. Faeries may not lie, but they don't always tell the truth.

"The Lady is the Court." Richard met the gaze without reacting. He liked the young human. For a number of reasons. And did not like manipulating him. So it was nice that he didn't have to. At least, not regarding anything about the current deal.

"Right, but things could change." Xander shot back. "What this means, is that you're going be asking for my help in the future. Which means that something more is coming than what I've told you. Something that threatens even your dimension."

"Perhaps." Richard agreed. "But, as I said it's a gift. It has strings, but it is still a show of good will."

"I would have appreciated an apology from the ones actually responsible as opposed to you. But, I get what you're saying." Xander replied. It wasn't Richard's fault. The Faerie warrior had always treated him fairly. With none of the double dealing that was common with other Faeries. Still, people tended to side with their own. "Thanks."

Xander got up and put the vial and the badge into his pockets. He had put his bags away when he got there, and wasn't planning on bringing any of it back. Except the disc. Given the active nature of the mission, he was keeping it on him as much as possible until he could secure at a site of his own choosing. He couldn't be too cautious. Xander walked out the door without a glance backwards. Extraditing the Immortal certainly wouldn't get him back into Buffy's good graces. Then again, for another shot at him, it was worth the sacrifice.

He'd let it go on for too long already.


	43. Chapter Forty Two

**Chapter 42: Why We Fight**

"So that's what you got from him? So far?" Xander asked. He checked his watch. He didn't want to be late for his appointment. It had been a day or two since the last time he had met up with Richard. They still had some things to work out. "A day or so of being, put to the question, and nothing. No names, no location. Not even a plan?"

"Pretty much. He's tough. And has some pretty intricate neural work done on him. Most of the drugs don't work. And he's got a mental shield up. A virtual minefield in there. Cindy could only brush the very surface of it. Still, it's early yet. This sort of thing can take time." Curtis replied. He watched his commander fidget in his seat. "There somewhere you need to be, Xander?"

Xander looked up. Caught in the act. It had been a couple days, and so far nothing had happened to make him suspect that things had changed. The Council, while distinctly unhappy with him, was still not taking overt action against him. Or covert, as far as his security precautions could tell. Richard was still trying to organize things, and the Immortal's plans had not changed. He'd set up some things on his end, so it was time to get back to some sort of official work. Thing would happen as they would. "Sorry. My mind's been a bit crazy of late. Scattered."

"You've changed. We've all seen it. The girls are worried about you. We all are. Jack included." Curtis said, closing the folder on his lap. He scooted his chair forward and looked at Xander from across the desk. "You're stretching yourself too thin. Between us and the Council. And whatever else you're working on. And maybe getting a bit too emotionally involved."

"It's necessary. And I've always been emotionally involved. Knew that coming in. My emotional involvement, is the reason I'm even here." Xander replied. He looked at his partner. And shrugged. "Hard to get the time to do everything and have time to sleep. And, you know, when have I let my emotions get the best of me? I don't do that anymore. Best of the best of the best. And all that. We operate on a different level. I know that. And don't worry, I know what's required of me."

"Maybe so." Curtis put he folder on the desk. It was the latest transcript from Jesse's interrogation. It hadn't gone well. Despite the rather harsh nature of his treatment, he hadn't broken. The FBI man, former, knew that sooner or later, everyone broke. It was only a question of time. Unfortunately, that was something they didn't have a lot of. And the longer it took, the more of a chance there was that he might be so screwed up as to make any information from him meaningless. In many prisoners, that was the best they could hope for in terms of keeping their secrets. That and death. "You want to talk about it?"

"Can't." Xander said curtly. He hesitated. he had been rather harsh. "I'm sorry. But, this is something I can't talk to you about. Can't talk to anyone about."

"Even Vi?" Curtis said softly. He wasn't hurt by the tone of voice. He understood the pressure that Xander was under. It was a problem with spies and informants to be sure. He'd done some undercover work himself so he could relate. Nothing like this though. One wasn't supposed to be personally involved in the investigation. It could take a heavy toll, even without that. Course that was impossible in this case.

"Especially her." Xander said. "Forget it. It's not important right now. I'll decompress when I get the chance. Maybe when I'm dead."

"You love her don't you?" Curtis said, seriously. He looked his boss in the eye. All the time they've been together, and they hadn't really talked about their personal lives. Not about the most vital things. It hadn't been that important. In the past. But, it had a way of driving their actions. He protected his wife. And children. The former FBI agent hadn't been certain what Xander's motivations had been. Not specifically. Not faces and names. He knew there was a heavy sense of responsibility. Mixed with a good dose of guilt. And loyalty. That had been enough to turn the young man into one of the most dangerous men on Earth. He wondered what else drove the man. And whether not knowing would come back to bite them someday.

Xander clenched his jaw. He wondered how to respond. Might as well go with the truth. "Yeah. Yeah I do."

"And that's why you do this?" Curtis said, equally softly.

"Getting to be more and more of the reason I think." Xander admitted. "Still, it's the right thing to do. She's worth it."

"I suppose it's hard. Thinking about saving the world. There are no faces at that scale of things. Can't even really see the people guess." Curtis knew that Xander had seen more and done more as a teenager than he had as an adult. To save the world. And he had been the sidekick for much of it. Self-admitted comic relief.

It was mindblowing. Nearly impossible to comprehend. Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov. Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov. To most, and even then it was a precious few, those were the names associated with saving the world. Narrowly preventing an all out nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States. A couple of times. That was crazy enough in and of itself. The two men in all the world to do it. At least in the war most people knew about. But, beneath that, were those that fought another battle. One without borders and boundaries. No national lines. No cultures or ideologies. Just humanity, even if they weren't human. One planet. Where saving the world was all in a day's work.

"It's never about the world." Xander said. "Not really. It's the people. I look at her, and I know that they deserve to be saved. And that maybe I do too."

"Xander. You are a good man." Curtis put forward. "I wasn't there. But, I know that the choice you made. It was the right one."

"It's easy to say that." Xander said. "I'm the one that's got to live with making the choice."

"And the pilots?" Curtis said. "And the guys on the ground that loaded the missiles? It's not just about you. It's all of us. All connected. We choose to stand on this line, between them and the rest of us. Hardest thing there is sometimes. Most of the time."

Xander chuckled. "Got that right. But, there should be a better way."

Agent Myers shrugged. "There isn't always one. Welcome to the real world."

"You used to be a cop. There were rules. Stuff you couldn't do. To protect the ones that you were wrong about." Xander stated. "How do you deal with that and what we're doing now? I mean, Jesse, you know what they're going to do to him right? No Constitution. No civil rights. Just a closed room. Closed doors. And he ain't walking out in one piece. I mean, we got the PATRIOT Act. But, that's just semantics. Making it legal doesn't make it right."

Curtis thought about it. He had asked himself the same question before. The Constitution existed for a reason. And people were allowed, and should get, due process. But, that was in a world that didn't take into account what they dealt with. That didn't take into account how fast things moved down there. And when the other side didn't play by the rules, why should they? That wasn't an excuse though. It wasn't a justification for their actions. It couldn't be one. "You're right. End of the day though, it's up to us to decide how far is too far."

"And if we never notice?" Xander put in. "Cause we're too far gone?"

"Since we're asking these questions, I'm thinking we aren't." Curtis replied. "Still, it is something to consider. Morality seemed to have forgotten about demons and monsters. And the end of the world."

"That's the problem. I know I don't care." Xander said. He knew he was safe talking. The room wasn't bugged. A number of the rooms were, aside from the obvious security cameras, but not his office. He'd made sure of that. And he knew that Curtis, was if nothing else, his man. He knew where the man's loyalties lay. "I know exactly how far I'm willing to go. To protect her. And that scares the hell out of me."

"Xander. You're one of the best people I know. What we do. Who we're doing it for. I know that you'll make the right choice. You've never failed us before. And I don't think you're going to do it now." Curtis said, carefully. He'd seen some of Xander's Africa. He knew that nobody came through that unscathed. Xander more than most had been scarred by it. Still, it was Xander. And while he was many things, he was still one of the most loyal and caring guys in the world. "It's who you are. And it's why she loves you. Don't forget that."

"I know, it's just hard sometimes. And we're getting off on a tangent." Xander was getting uncomfortable with all the talk about feelings. And why he was doing what he was doing. He let off a nervous laugh. "I'm really not getting enough sleep. Forget about it. I'm just talking nonsense."

Curtis frowned. It was hardly healthy to keep bottling things up, and the man in front of him was not just his boss, he was his friend. "Okay. But, I am here for you, if you do need to talk."

"Thanks. Dad." Xander grinned. He looked down at the file in front of him. "Okay. Maybe we're doing this all wrong. Pain and drugs isn't going to cut it now. And we can't strip it from his mind. We're missing something. There's got to be something we can do. I may have to talk to him myself."

He had given them some of the information he had gotten from Ares. Didn't name a source, but they weren't sure how best to utilize it. The higherups, who had long since given up on trying to figure out where Xander got his information, was still debating the best protocol.

"You sure that's wise?" Curtis questioned. While it was true that they weren't getting anywhere, he wasn't sure that Xander going in would be best. If Jack hadn't been able to get anything out of their prisoner, he wasn't sure that the other Jack would fare much better. And protocol demanded that interrogators with a personal investment in the subject not be the ones that conducted the questioning. Of course, that was in his old world. This one had a different set of rules. "He can get in your head too you know. I think we should give it a little more time. Before, you, go in there."

Xander looked at him. The man had plenty of experience in such things. Much more than him to be honest. Even more, it was learned and official experience. He knew Curtis' background. And he knew to respect and listen to his betters. "Alright. I'll give it some time. But, if we keep getting nothing…"

"I know." Curtis nodded, grim. He knew what he wasn't so educated in. But, he did know some of what was happening. What had occurred in Arizona hadn't been pleasant. His task had been simple. Case the joint, grab their target, and then leave without detection. With Cindy laying down some of her thing, it had been fairly easy, all things considered. Xander however, from the large explosion he'd seen, had had a tougher time of it. The after action report probably hadn't even told half the story. Especially given Xander's expressed opinion on it. "Alright then. If there's nothing else, I still have work to do."

"Alright. I'll see you later then." Xander watched his second leave. He knew that Curtis was right. With all that was going on, he was getting off his game. Damn near gotten killed in Arizona. He should have been better than that. He was better than that. He shook his head. Too many secrets. He was getting wound too tight. One of the hazards of the job. He'd have to deal with it when he got the chance though. Too much to worry about right now.

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Willow sat on her bed. She looked at her hands. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

"Don't you?" Kennedy replied looking at her girlfriend from her place at the desk. Ever since Xander had come back, she had been in Cleveland more and more. While South America had been fun, it had gotten old. And she was a slayer. There hadn't been that many demons in Brazil to kill, so she moved back. Pretty much for good. Especially since that was where Willow was staying now. For a while at least. Ever since Xander had come back. "You're the most powerful witch in the world. Or at least most of it. I would think you'd know more about magic than anyone."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I know how to use it." Willow grumbled. In terms of straight power, she was probably one of the most powerful magic users in the entire Northern hemisphere. Not counting purely supernatural beings. Still, she'd done magic for less than ten years. Some beings had been working with it for centuries. "Maybe Xander was right. I shouldn't be trying to go so far. Maybe it's too much."

"Or maybe he's just keeping you back." Kennedy suggested. She constantly trained. And practiced. To improve herself. She saw Willow do the same. It was what they should be doing to keep the world safe. To do their duties as guardians.

Willow shook her head. "No. Xander wouldn't do that. If what I saw was right…"

"But, you said it was only one vision of the future. You have no idea if he's even right." Kennedy countered. Willow had told her about what had happened. Or at least, some of it. Truth mixed with what Xander said to say. But, the general truth was there. The gist of it anyways. "He's changed. I mean, I know you know him better, but what he did. That isn't right."

"But, how can I judge him?" Willow said. She looked at her girlfriend. They had had some times together. She trusted her judgment. Sometimes more than her own. Kennedy was an anchor. To keep her more, human. To keep from getting to deep in her own magic. The Earth's magic. "He was right about the slayers. You. You all. I made that choice because all that I could see was what I could do. With my power. Not whether I should. I didn't even consider other options."

"Hey." Kennedy stood up and walked over to the bed. She sat down and hugged the young witch. "Way I see it, you made us strong. And you helped safe the world. We owe you everything."

"Maybe. But, what about all the girls we didn't get to in time. What about them?" Willow bent into the embrace. Needing the comfort. "I never even considered them. The ones that I couldn't reach. The ones that we couldn't find. The ones that we were too late for."

Kennedy frowned. "You're right. They deserved better. But, we did what we had to. Nobody thought of anything else. Xander included. We didn't have a choice."

"I think. I think that's how he feels too. I mean, what happened in Germany and all. That was us. We could have done it better." Willow said, looking up at her girlfriend. "We should have done it better."

"They were just demons." Kennedy replied. She hadn't been raised in the game. She was rich and well off, in more ways than one. She didn't understand many of the hardships that there were for those that lived street level. That mixed it up out there. That saw the innocent blood split on the ground. Red. And green. Blue. All the colors that were there. And none of that mattered. In the dark, everyone bled the same color. She had been surrounded by humans during her training. Trained to fight the demons. Either. Or. There hadn't been a middle ground. "Besides, we've revised the way we operate. I have to give him that. He's helped some. We're more careful now. Secret identities and everything."

"Maybe. But, I get the feeling there's more to it. If there is the remotest possibility that he's right, then maybe I should do something." Willow concluded. She pulled away and looked back. "I don't know if I can take that chance."

"Willow." Kennedy said. "Whatever you choose, you know I'll support you. But, I think that if Xander is right about the threats that we're facing, then we're going to need all the firepower we can get. And that's you baby."

Willow smiled and leaned into her companion again.

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He stood up. And walked out of his office into the hall. He put his hand in his pocket, wrapping it around the small metal tube inside of it. He wasn't sure how much trust he could place in it. Richard was right, there never are any absolutes. Faerie magic could do many wondrous things. Faerie wine for instance was just great. Their healing was powerful, though it tended to have all sorts of nasty consequences when done on humans. He only hoped that the potion he now had wouldn't blow up in his face. He was only pretty sure that that wouldn't happen literally.

There weren't many people there he noticed as he walked down the corridor to the elevator. Some of them looked at him in passing. Nodded their heads. Waved. Said hi. Some stared. Tried to hide it, but he could tell. Some of it was because of the patch. The rest, he knew, was because of his reputation. The stories had spread. It was annoying, but at least there weren't that many people out there. Not yet at least.

It wasn't that everyone was too busy working, but that Level 6 was just extremely understaffed. Of course it was made nearly from scratch and had only been operational for a short time. They had some good support staff, doctors and the like, from the Initiative. That however, also meant that they had to be monitored carefully. Just in case one of them decided to get above his station and decide to be the next Dr. Walsh. For geniuses, they could be so dumb sometimes.

Level 6 was still a startup. It was also the redheaded stepchild of intelligence agencies. Some of the members were highly respected in their chosen fields, but as a whole, they were looked down upon. They cannibalized what they needed. Personnel taken from the Initiative. The complex was a decommissioned government facility from back in the day. Cold War surplus. Left behind to fade into obscurity; brought back and renovated in record time to defend the United States against the new barbarians at the gate. Xander supposed there was something appropriate about that.

The elevator car went down a level. The science section. They did all sorts of nifty stuff. Weapons research. Archeology. Even some medical research. That was what he was interested in today. That section was pretty far down on that level, off in the corner. It was quite a walk.

He passed his security card along the reader set to the right of a large reinforced steel door. Medical Research it said. A house of horrors for those that walked in. Though, as far as he could tell, there was some reason behind the madness. Even if it personally made him a bit queasy. He couldn't be too critical though, others would say the same about him and the work he did.

He walked down the cold, tiled aisle in the center of the large room. He noticed a few examinations going on. More detailed ones involving the bodies, and bits of them, that had been recovered from Arizona. Trying to identify the species no doubt. Pin it to a region on Earth that could be investigated. Or if it wasn't from Earth, the dimension. He wasn't too involved in that aspect of what they did. In a way, it was like the Hellboy comics. The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. The tech heads on this level did the research, he did the defense. By any means necessary.

It took a minute to get to the secured section of the lab. It was way in the back, after a good deal of security. Cameras. Defensive wards. Armed security guards. It wasn't that the area was that dangerous. Just that they were extremely cautious. Level 6 had learned from the mistakes of the past. No power intensive cages. Just cold hard bars. With a bit of the mystic to reinforce it. And every captured demon kept there alive had been chipped. With an even more advanced version of the one that the Initiative had been using. Any sort of violence would be met with debilitating pain. Full paralysis and neural lock for six hours at least was the result. Not headaches that could nearly be ignored this time.

He walked to the guard station in front and passed his identification card through the reader again. He noticed that the two standing guards tightened their hold on their weapons just a touch. "Get Dr. Wesker down here."

"I'll call him." The seated guard at the station returned. He wasn't that surprised by Xander being there. As just about the most famous agent in the organization, Xander had near free reign. Officially, it was a security problem. Unofficially, it was the price of doing business.

"I'll be in there." Xander said without looking at the guard. He waited for him to open the gate.

Super max. Secured Section – LT. Long term holding. The door that opened was thick. A thicker one than the front. This area was set up like a prison. One long hall. Cells on either side. Cameras. Computer controlled weaponry. A prison, a bad one. Except for the room at the very end. That one was different. It was a room, not a cell. In its own separate section removed from the riffraff.

Technically, it was a bad idea to keep enemies in their own base. But, they were live subjects and they didn't have the resources to set up a pure research facility. This was the best they could do. Didn't keep them from being security intensive though.

He walked to the end and peeked through the window. He saw the young woman seated on the bed. Her long hair covered her face, but she didn't bother to push it back. She jut sat there.

He clenched his jaw. It was heartbreaking. Even without the guilt he felt.

"What do you think you're doing Agent Harris?" Dr. Wesker asked from behind. He was the main research doctor in the lab. Picked up in France doing research on some of the demon tribes. He'd been recruited. Money and some very exciting research for the 50 year old nerd. His main job was to oversee nonhuman medical affairs. Research and development. Head of Project Epsilon. Though with that in less developmental stages, he was pushing for another project. Luckily, Xander had one.

"My job." Xander said. He didn't look away from what he saw. Dana. Rocking back and forth. She'd been pumped full of thorazine in the past. He wasn't sure what she was on now. It wasn't pretty. She had regular sessions with Dr. Farmiga, but the drugs were still necessary. He didn't like it, but it was still better than what the Council would have provided. Either just let her free after they thought she was cured because they deluded themselves to think that they could do it cause they were the good guys. Or just shove her out of sight when they found out that they couldn't. Forgotten. Glossed over like any other of the Council's mistakes and incompetencies.

The government wouldn't have been much better though. Not without Xander pushing and Grainer backing him. The meltdown at the Sunnydale facility had convinced them of the failure of using drugs to create better soldiers. A genetic solution was seen as the next step. They'd wanted to use Dana, but Xander wouldn't allow it. That, at least, had ended up working out for the best. So far.

The room was padded. But it wasn't a cell. A nice comfortable bed. The walls, had small pictures on them. Of rainbows. He had picked them himself. He wasn't sure if Dana like rainbows. But, he felt it was better than nothing. Happier. Anything would be, to stark white or institutional gray.

Xander took out the metal vial that Richard had given him. Mohra blood with a Faerie chaser. A long shot at best. But, he was desperate. He didn't like seeing one of his like this. "This. This is magic. It's said that Mohra blood is the blood of eternity. That it has extreme regenerative abilities."

He hadn't known that a year or so ago. The hunter had done a lot of reading to catch up. He found that he remembered quite a bit from the research parties held back in Sunnydale. Myth and legend. Demon lore. Some physiology. But, not enough to stop learning. And certainly not broad enough.

So he read. And read. Combat tactics. History. Strategy. Forensics. Psychology. More myth and lore. Anything and everything that could be useful in the fight. An interesting thing happened after that though. Xander found that he could be an excellent student. He picked things up extremely quickly. It just took the right motivation. The right stakes.

"That's certainly true." Dr. Wesker replied. He looked at the vial. If it was what Xander said, then it was a very precious commodity. "It's also very rare. Mohras in this dimensions are very rare. Pretty much extinct after they were all pulled to Los Angeles seven months or so ago. And then wiped out. By you."

"Couldn't be helped." Xander never took his eyes off the window. "Armies of darkness. The end of the world. Hard to bring them in alive. And the team back then was hardly looking for new science projects for you."

"Of course." Dr. Wesker said. He understood. Stil, it was kind of annoying to not have anything new to work on. "And the vial?"

Xander still held it up. Firmly in his grasp. It was a gift, with a string. "What have you got her on now? Thorazine?"

"Uh, no." Dr. Wesker said. He looked at the young girl in the room. He was sympathetic. He had children of his own. "Dr. Farmiga switched her to Olanzapine. With a couple milligrams of that other drug you supplied. To keep her calm."

Xander looked over at him. "Okay. That actually isn't that helpful since I have no idea what that is."

"It's like thorazine." Dr. Wesker supplied, helpfully. In his eyes at least.

"Mohra blood, it's been reworked a bit. I don't know all the specifics. Made to be more potent. And may even work on brain chemistry and, uh, stuff. Take a bit of it for study. I imagine it could be useful for all sorts of ailments." Xander said. Triage would be a snap. It might even be useful on some of the more prevalent and less treatable problems in their world. Cancer. AIDS. "The rest, the rest is for her. The sole purpose I brought it to you for is so that you can see how it can be best used to cure her. Or at least heal what's biologically wrong with her."

"Okay. I'll have to get it cleared, but if it's that important…" Wesker stared at the vial. The work he could do with it. He reached out to take it. Xander held it fast.

"It's for her. Get it cleared." Xander said, letting go as the doctor took it. He wasn't an evil man. No mad doctor. It was just that he could get too involved in the pure science and could forget about the humans involved. He didn't want that to happen. to either of them.

Xander looked back to the window.

"You know. There's no telling what this would do to a slayer. It could strip her of her powers. Permanently." Dr. Wesker said. Of course, what he didn't have to say was what else that potential effect could be used for. If it was weaponized.

"Maybe that would be for the best." Xander said, softly. He looked back over. The wheels turning. He saw the potentialities of the situation they were in now. He wouldn't be who he was if he didn't. He may have gotten a bit sloppier of late, though he was working on that, but he was as sharp as ever. "I know what you're thinking Doc. Don't. We'll work on that other bit later. After you heal her. Don't be putting a bomb in Roger now."

"What?" Wesker had confused look on his face.

"They're people too. And she has a name." Xander said. He had to stop doing that. Or surround himself amongst geeks again. Too bad so many turned out to be next to worthless. Or just plain evil. Jonathan. Warren. Andrew. "Don't forget that. If it's to be weapon, then it's a weapon of last resort. Get me?"

He let the doctor take it.

Wesker nodded. While it would undoubtedly be thought of by others, it would not go forward at least not very fast. He wouldn't work on it. And wouldn't allow his team to work on it. He may be a scientist, but he wasn't an evil man. He knew the work they were doing. Why they were doing it. And that some advances were better not made. At least, not until necessary, lest less cooler heads prevail. "I understand."

"Good." Xander said. He turned to watch Dana again. She was still rocking on the bed. No change. At least she didn't have to remain in a strait jacket anymore. She had some freedom of movement. The Council's Cruciamentum drug helped stabilize her and lowered her adrenaline level. Less super strength, but she was calmer. And maybe more lucid than with a hundred slayers running around in her head.

He didn't know what Olanzapine did. It was probably some type of antipsychotic. She had delusions. Hallucinations. Now multiple personality disorder. Dr. Farmiga had made some improvements there. He'd kept up on the case. No matter how far and wide he may travel, he wanted to stay involved on this one. It was the least he could do.

"Get Dr. Farmiga to help. It's her case." Xander said. He wanted her there. While he knew that she did some less than ethical things in regards to their sessions, he understood the necessity of them. And that at the end of the day, he knew she would do the right thing. He wouldn't have allowed her there if she wouldn't. Besides, she would keep Wesker honest.

"Okay." Dr. Wesker said. He backed away, eager to get to work. "Bye."

Xander didn't bother to say goodbye as the doctor left. He watched as Dana did nothing different from before. Just rocked back and forth. As she did day in and day out. Trapped inside her own tortured mind.

"Dana. Dana." He smiled, a real one. Xander laid a hand on the door.

He wasn't sure if she could hear him. He wasn't quite sure on slayer hearing. Some could hear extremely well. But, he wasn't sure if that was one of their powers, or if it was just cause they seemed to always hear the things he didn't want them to. "I'm Xander. I'm here to help you. You just need to hold. Just a little longer. Can you do that for me? I know you can."

Xander walked away. Maybe this was why he wasn't the bad guy. No hero, but not the villain of the piece at least. And that was something at least. His good deed for the day done.

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Author's Note: So, did you guess correctly whom the blood was for?


	44. Chapter Forty Three

**Chapter 43: The Best Laid Plans**

"So this is the closest you could get?" Xander asked. He was currently sitting at the large desk in Richard's apartment. The one in the main room. They'd be sharing it for the mission. Though he was still going in and out. Still had a job to do. At least the Court would be reimbursing them for the cost, along with any unexpected necessities. It was now an official hunt for them both now.

"Yes. The security cameras at FCO are good, but this was the best they could do." Richard replied. Xander had told him the plan he'd come up. It wasn't bad, but it also meant that the Faerie warrior couldn't do anything but sit and wait. He didn't like it, but it wasn't a bad plan.

"What does this look like to you?" Xander asked, examining the blown up security video capture. He didn't even want to think about how Richard had managed to get the shot. Probably bribery, inequitable deals, theft, or any of the usual methods the Faeries used on a regular basis. "Rolex Daytona?"

"Yes. Black dial. Gold band. It's not going to be easy to get. Even with our discretionary funds." Richard replied. He took a closer look at the picture. It had been enhanced as much as possible. Still rather pixilated, but that particular watch was rather distinctive. "You think you'll be able to get one? Or will you just get a knockoff."

"Going to have to go legit on this one. The Immortal isn't one not to notice the difference." Xander said, putting the photo onto the desk. "New York has all sorts of people. I got a guy that can get a guy that can potentially hook me up with this. I hope he can get it on short notice. But, it'll cost. My own operating funds are probably going to get watched if I dig up the money for this little job by myself. I'm going to need some petty cash."

Richard chuckled. "How much do you think you'll need?"

"From my research, it'll cost about $16,000." Xander looked at the Faerie, gauging his reaction. He wasn't an expert on watches. He'd always used the cheap digital, or a steel banded Timex. But, when he had started getting acquainted with high society, he'd found the need to broaden his horizons. No expert, but he had picked up a few things. And with a little research... "That's new. And completely above board. For a quick job like I need, I'm thinking at least twice that."

"So it's going to be stolen?" Richard frowned. Not so much that he cared, given their target, but that it seemed sort of out of character for the young human. The man may be a rather ruthless killer, but he was no thief. And didn't unnecessarily go after those not in the game. "Doesn't seem like you."

"Borrowed." Xander stated. He didn't like the situation either. But, still as long as nobody got hurt on that side of things, it wouldn't be too bad. "Trust me. I'll make sure it goes smooth, and we'll try to return it. If we can."

"And if you can't?" Richard raised his eyebrows.

Xander smirked. "Well, I'll need another $16,000 to cover the reimbursement."

Richard nodded. It was a rather nasty deal. But, too be honest, it wasn't the worst thing either man had done. And at least nobody was supposed to get hurt. At least, nobody innocent. "What else are you going to need?"

Xander thought about it for a moment. "The support to set up and maintain the trick. Some backup all along our way out would be good. If this gets messy there are going to be people that might try to stop us. Me. I can't use any of my usual people. And most of the others I can get don't know about Faeries. And I can't exactly tell them. I haven't had the time to keep track of the usual suspects that much anymore."

"Right then." Richard thought about it as well. His long history on the Earth had given him a number of contacts. Many of them fighters in one fashion or another. Some of them mercenaries, which fit their purpose beautifully. "There are some mercenaries. Not many, but some that can handle this."

"Really? You know most of the same ones I do. And I don't think most of them can handle this. Not anyway too deep." Xander sounded skeptical. Not that he didn't trust the warrior beside him, but that he wondered exactly how many people the old Faerie knew. "Who're you thinking?"

"Franklin's supposed to be in Maine. That's close enough for us. Fitz just finished a job up in Canada. The Kat can be here pretty quick." Richard ticked off on his fingers. A habit he had picked up during his years in America. A habit he was trying out. He wasn't sure if he liked it yet.

Xander chuckled, a bit derisively. "Franklin got shot dead in Frankfurt last week. Head paid up for that Cardiff thing. The Hart ain't one to forgive. Fitz isn't one for any subtle work. He wouldn't work if you don't want people to find out about you all. And the Kat's been twitchy ever since that business in LA last year. And we're going to need more than three I think. You have anybody else?"

Richard nodded. He hadn't known about Mickey Franklin being killed. Still, he had been busy and hadn't kept his pointed ear to the ground as well as he had in the past. The hunt was taking a lot of time and effort. As for the others, Xander was likely right. The man knew humans better than he did after all.

The Immortal was going to be arriving in a couple of days. Some stops in other countries for a bit of fun. It was meant to be a vacation. Not that he lived particularly hard with his girlfriend. It gave them some time, but not enough. The only boon in the particular nature of the visit was that he would be coming in light. Thomas, Buffy, and two bodyguards. The same two he had seen a month or so earlier. No other minions, and away from his base of power. He was going to be meeting some of Buffy's friends, which meant that Thomas couldn't be bringing in anything too powerful.

Richard had thought that it wouldn't take much. Not much in the way of human resources. Evidently, Xander thought otherwise. He'd learned to trust the human's intuition. He thought about the others he knew about. "Alright. I hear the Aces are in town."

"Really." Xander was surprised. His usual impeccable sources hadn't informed him of that. He at least tried to keep track of the more refined hunters that passed through the US. That he hadn't known told him that he needed to revise his information gathering. Though to be fair, the Aces were really really good. Formed during the late 1870s in South Dakota the organization had gained a reputation of extreme competence. He'd met one of them. Ran with him for a spell. Once. "See if you can get a contract. They'll be good doing support along the path. Whatever it costs, since you're the one that's paying for it. Call me with the details."

"I can do that." Richard nodded. "Anything else?"

"I'll need a patsy. For the trick." Xander put the papers they had sorted through back into their folders. "Someone to Lee Harvey while the man on the grassy knoll takes his shot."

"What did you have in mind?" Richard had no idea what the last part of that meant. But, the first part was clear enough.

"Double blind hire." Xander stood up and walked to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator door and took out a bottled water. "One shot contract. Tell him, it's a human."

"How good do you want him?" Richard started to get where the man was going with it.

"Good enough to get a shot off before he's taken down. Or detected." Xander cracked the bottle and took a drink. "I want Thomas rattled, but not enough to go lockdown. Just enough to start thinking fast, and not straight."

"Alright." Richard walked to the kitchen as well. He pulled out a beer from the refrigerator. "I'll set it up. You want Teraka? Akkad? Or an independent?"

"How's the war going?" Xander asked. He walked over a bit and leaned against the counter. He knew that there had been some strikes amongst the various assassin groups. He'd been the one to fire the first shot after all. But, after that, he hadn't had the time to more fully inform himself on it. Too many things going down in the world.

"The Akkad took out most of the new hires from the Order. The ones that are left tend to be more traditional. Set in the old ways, but they're still pretty good." Richard replied. He remembered when he had gotten word. It hadn't been a surprise. A massacre in Mexico by One-Eyed Jack. Assassins going after assassins. Though he suspected that Xander had other reasons to start the war. There were only so many jobs going around for supernatural assassins. The competition for work had reached a height that would only be taken care of in blood. It hadn't taken much, once Xander set the ball rolling. "Some of the retired Terakans took up the fight. Took down a good deal of the Akkadian infrastructure in Switzerland. Independents aren't in it too much. They're waiting it out. Looking to fill in the holes when the dust's settled."

"Okay." Xander said. It was about all he could expect. He knew it wouldn't take them down, but the more infighting the less time they had to kill innocent people. And less assassins to do the killing. "Who's winning?"

"I'd say the Terakans are reforming and retaking. Their more decentralized nature makes them harder to put down. It's taking more of an effort for the Akkad to find targets, especially since their information centers are being taken out." Richard explained.

"Get me a Terakan then. I think we can nudge it, so they lose some face on this one." Xander said. He wanted to even up the sides a bit; prolong the war. Just as long as it didn't spill out into the street it would be okay by him.

Richard nodded. "Anything else?"

"No. I think all of our bases are covered." Xander checked his watch. And then pulled the water up for another drink.

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"What should we do about Xander?" Robin asked. He leaned back in his chair, looking at Giles in the eyes. "And Willow?"

"I don't know." Giles admitted. He knew that Willow had seen more than she had told them when she had read Xander's mind. Things she had kept hidden. It was rather disappointing that one of his closest people would keep things from him. Especially about someone so potentially dangerous. He had learned more from Brian. Informative things. Disturbing things. "I don't think he's turned her. But, she is keeping things from us. And that is not good."

"You think what she told us is true? That the reason he couldn't come here to talk again is because he's sick? Maybe because of what she did?" Robin asked. "Or is she trying to protect him?"

"Indeed. They are both distinct possibilities." Giles replied. "Either way, she's covering for him."

"What can we do? Xander doesn't know that his mind has been breached. We can't exactly ask him what's going on." Robin said in an even tone. He was thoroughly disgusted that he had gone along with such things. He had had some time to digest what had occurred. He still thought the young man was a loose cannon. Someone willing to ignore the innocent in favor of destroying evil. And ignore whoever he wanted if it didn't suit him to listen. It wasn't unheard of in a hunter. It especially occurred to those that had lost someone close. Vengeance could be all consuming. He knew the feeling. Knew it well. It had taken quite some time to cast it off. And it hadn't been easy. Especially when he had come face to face with the object of his wrath. It had nearly spelled his own death. He knew the heavy price of trying to exact vengeance.

Still, he did not have it in him to condemn the rogue. The simple fact of it was that if the threat was so large, and the potential loss of life so great, then it had been the necessary thing to do. In his heart, he knew that he never could have made that choice. Despite his own personal loss, he knew that he didn't have such a thing in him. The field watcher wondered what could drive a man to become so consumed in the fight as to be willing to cast off his humanity in such a fashion. He wondered what Xander had lost.

"There is information there. On his allies if nothing else. We need to find out what they know. What threat they pose to us." Giles stated. Xander's actions had made it clear to him, that Xander had completely and finally lost his way. For a time, when Xander had made overtures to return to the fold, he had been thankful at the chance to make amends. He knew that there he had wronged the young man. But, this, this was too much. Too much death. And too much independence. Sometimes there were hard choices to be made. He knew that when he had killed Ben to stop Glory. But, a hundred lives for a potentiality. It was too much. And, Xander was still too inexperienced to make such calls. And as much as he wished he could help the man, the head watcher knew that he had his own organization to care for. He could not spend the time when there were more important things to deal with.

He had to clean up his house. Xander had had an effect on the slayers. Some of it, to be fair, was beneficial. The training. The slayers were much more effective now on their patrols. Their operations were much better run and executed. The guns, were another matter. It was disconcerting to see such young women handling firearms. But, he could not deny their success. Injuries had fallen dramatically. And there had been no more fatalities since Xander had been back. The price of it though, was too much. If Xander was able to gain control over any more of the slayers, he would lose control of the Council. And he would not allow that.

Giles sighed. "I think we may have to take steps to deal with the situation."

Robin clenched his jaw. Shocked. He could hear the euphamism. "You aren't suggesting that we kill him? That's too far. If we go there, then what difference are we from Xander and his people?"

"Good heavens, no." Giles was shocked at the suggestion. To think they would dirty themselves with petty assassinations and murders. Not the Watchers Council. Not anymore. "We may have to expel him. And, call in Riley Finn to take control and detain him."

"Have him arrested? For how long?" Robin was getting increasingly uneasy. They were treading on very shaky ground. Xander had committed some heinous crimes. But, they were all vigilantes. None of their closets were skeleton free.

"As long as it takes." Giles stated, bluntly. He knew that it was a drastic step. But, to protect the world, even from those that sought to save it, would be worth it. Sacrifices were required. And he would step up. It was his duty.

"Even if I was willing to go along with this, we have no way of reaching this Finn. Besides, he's supplying Xander. We have no idea how far that goes. And you have no idea whether or not he would side with us." Robin didn't like where things were going. Collateral damage was a fact of the game. Couldn't be helped sometimes. But this. This was walking a path that couldn't be unwalked.

"He has always kept track of Buffy. We may need to contact her about this matter." Giles concluded.

Robin hadn't had much contact with the Slayer over the last year. She hadn't stayed in Cleveland long. She had visited a few times, then disappeared. Staying in Rome. Some slayers kept in touch, but he had never really known her that well. He couldn't tell what kind of effect that Buffy would have on the man he didn't know at all. "Is that wise? I was under the impression that Buffy and Xander were close friends."

"Things have changed. They have drifted apart. That may serve to our advantage." Giles stated. He had seen the friendship between the three grow apart. Buffy. Willow. Xander. Each had grown apart. For different reasons. They were different people now. They all were.

"There's got to be another way." Robin drew a hand over his bald head. It was never supposed to have been like this. The reformation of the Council was to be a joyous occassion. A way to give more control to the slayers. To establish an occult organization that could truly protect the world. It hadn't exactly turned out like that.

"I wish there was. I truly do. But, if there is, I do not see it." Giles looked at his field commander. He swallowed hard, hating himself for what he was doing. But, knowing he had to do it. His voice nearly cracked. "If you have another solution, then by all means, let me in on it. Because, I don't, I just don't know."

"I just don't know if I can support you on this one." Robin stated and shook his head. He didn't have the answers either. He got up and started towards the door. He stopped halfway towards the office exit. "Faith has come to me. She's asked me about the slayers' families. Vi's been talking to them. Xander did that. He gave her that. He gave her her family back. The family, the Council, the watchers, we, took from her. What the hell are we doing anymore?"

Robin turned around. "You think Xander's a threat. You think he's got to be stopped. You're right."

Giles nodded. Knowing that Robin wasn't agreeing with him.

"He is a threat. He's a threat to everything you've built here. And he's a threat to you." Robin walked towards the door and opened it. He turned his head. "And you know what, I'm having a harder time thinking he's wrong."

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"What is happening?" The voice nearly exploded in anger. Amy knelt low, not daring to raise her eyes to her goddess. The scared witch could hear the excited chattering of the dark army. The numbers had grown. Enough to lay waste to a nation. But, that was not its purpose. Purification of the world could only come after it had been saved. The unbelievers and unworthy would be devoured, leaving only the clean. "My plans. Millennia of planning for my coming. Brought nearly to ruins. By what? By whom? Who would dare? For the paradise that I would bring to this world. To existance."

"What is your desire, my Lady?" Amy said softly, not wanting to be a target of Sekhment's wrath. She wished to save her people, but knew that if the enemy had its way, the innocent would suffer as well as the guilty when Sekhmet came. A goddess did not concern herself with the petty. Such a sacrifice would be worth her presence upon the world. No desirable, but worth it. The large stone cave reverberated with her goddess' anger. It was a mighty sound. "What do you wish me to do?"

The small salamander twitched upon the altar of the stone temple. The voice came from around. "Take a legion. Use your magicks. Use what I have bestowed upon you. Hunt down whomever my enemy is. Destroy them. Drive them under the Earth so that all will know that those who defy me will be destroyed. Return my property so that I may bring my full power upon this world."

The ancient Egyptian Goddess remembered when she had been driven out. The fall of Egypt. When it had been conquered and ruled by foreign rulers. The Romans had been amongst the worst. She would see the glory of Egypt brought back. And spread across the world. That was her greatest desire. Her subjects had suffered for so long. They deserved paradise. They deserved what she would bring to them. But first, the unworthy would have to be destroyed. Chief amongst them, those that dared to stand in her way.

It was nearly time. Time when the coming of great and powerful leaders, demonic and otherworldly, would meet to determine how the assorted dimensions and worlds would be divided. With Earth in her pocket, she would have a strong voice. A voice that would allow her to spread her empire across all of eternity. To bring her grace and wisdom to the peoples. To uplift them under her careful and loving guidance. But, first...

"As you command, my Lady." Amy knelt even lower. Then stood and backed away slowly. She had to find out why the comer had not arrived with the crystal. What had happened. And who was responsible. It would not be an easy task.

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"Really? Because I think we still don't have enough people." Richard said. "I think we need to bring some more people in on this."

Xander stopped in mid swig. He swallowed. "What did you mean?"

"You have the setup. You even have the trick." Richard explained. "But, you don't have your big reveal. You're probably going to need more people. In case things don't go as expected."

Xander considered it. He set his drink onto the counter top in the well furnished kitchen. Richard may be rather rough at times, but he was not one to not have the finer things when he could. "You're right. But, unless we change the game, then I'm out of people."

"So you just hope that Thomas doesn't put up a fuss? Or his girlfriend? And if he or she does? What's your solution there?" Richard started to poke holes in the plan.

"Okay. Okay. I need more people. I need the Aces there when we make the drive back during the setup. The reveal needs more support. But, I don't have anybody else. Unless you're getting some backup from back home that I don't know about?" Xander asked.

Richard sighed, and took another pull from his beer. "Unfortunately, no. Resources are tight for this one. It's a matter of principle, but there are starting to be more concerns. This may not keep the attention of the Throne for very much longer. We have to do this on our own."

Xander knew what he meant. As bad as going after kids was for the Faeries, they could also be most annoyingly pragmatic. And ignore such principles when they had more pressing concerns. Xander wondered what they were, but knew that if Richard had deemed it important he would have told him straight up. Besides, if he hadn't told him yet, he wouldn't if he asked the Faerie now. Unless he merely wasn't allowed to speak of it to outsiders. Which left less blatant methods. "So where are we going to get more people?"

"I think we need some of your slayers." Richard turned and looked at Xander seriously. "I think it's time."

Xander frowned. He didn't like where it was going. He was sorry he asked. He knew that making deals with the Faeries as a whole people would come back on him. Richard was one thing, but the Lady, and the Court, were different things entirely. "So, that's what you were wanting then?"

"We need allies too." Richard stated, bluntly. "And the slayers are an army of super strong warriors. That know the game. Ones we could use. Especially after you get them into fighting shape."

"Yes. Use." Xander replied. He clenched his jaw. "You're a good man. You wouldn't be asking me this if you didn't think it supremely necessary. So tell me truth."

"I know about your war. I know about the threats that are springing up with the destruction of most of the First's army. And the takedown of a good number of Wolfram and Hart's forces." Richard didn't like asking what he was. To get Xander to get his slayers involved. It had been a request. A strongly worded request. He couldn't just take the slayers, at least he wouldn't. That would be bad form. And it would be wrong. But, he wasn't above a little manipulation. Neither Xander nor he was. "It's causing disturbances on my side of the border. And the Lady has some problems with what you and yours have done."

"Bottom line, she's asking for help. And if she doesn't get it nicely, she'll cry offense." Xander saw through the plan. Not that Richard was trying to hide it. "And take what she wants in reparations. And she'll want a scapegoat. Whose that then? Me? Buffy?"

"Or all of you." Richard said, softly. "I'm not supposed to tell you more, but this is big. The nosferatu are already raiding along our borders. The Svartálfar and Dvergar are rumbling in their pits. Your actions have had consequences for my world. And my Lady wants answers."

Xander looked at him. Looked at the old Faerie warrior and noticed something he had never seen in the other man. "You're scared. You're scared of this. Of what's to come."

Richard met the look defiantly. But, he knew he wasn't fooling anyone. He nodded. "We have existed for untold millennia. We have visited your world since before you could even imagine what you were capable of. All that time, and we have never been in a state as we are right now. The equilibrium of opposing forces has been disrupted. By you. That cannot stand."

Xander sighed. He knew that there would be consequences for their actions in Sunnydale. He just didn't know it would go so far. "Okay. Okay. I get what you're saying. But, I'm going to need more guarantees before I bring any of my girls in."

Richard nodded. "You shall have it. But, we do need more forces. It's been a long time. We don't have the warriors we used to. My people have moved to more, civilized affairs. Even I am considered behind the times."

Xander rubbed his chin. He thought about who he could pull off for the mission. Unfortunately, one kept springing to mind. The one he wanted to protect most. Though, in the end, he knew it would be her choice. As it should be. "I can ask around. I have some that can do the job. But, I need authorization to tell them the truth. The whole truth."

"You have it." Richard was unhappy with what he had done. He was loyal to his world, and his queen. But, that didn't mean he had to like it. It was a breach of trust between warriors. One that would put the two men even more out of sorts. They had trusted each other fully. Despite their disagreements, they knew where they stood as brothers in arms. That wasn't necessarily the case anymore.

"Which means you went into this with that in your pocket already." Xander said. He wondered if he had misjudged the Faerie. All his research had made him cautious, but he had thought he had had a good handle on the warrior. They'd spilt blood together. They'd bled together. That bonded them. He wondered if he had been wrong. "How's this supposed to make me want to trust you as much as I used to? I thought we were friends."

Richard was hurt at that. He had seen in the young man the very best of humanity. It's absolute strength in doing the right thing, despite deep sacrifice. To have the man not consider him a friend anymore was a deep wound. "We are both patriots Xander. To our respective worlds. Beyond all that, I am your friend. You know that. I do what I do in service of my Lady. As you do too. We both have crossed lines we would wish we had not needed to. We are what we are to the world. What we are to each other is separate."

Xander nodded. "I know. It's just, they're my responsibility. And I don't want to send them to fight and die for some kingdom that they aren't a part of. That they would never even be welcome in."

"Are you asking for political consideration?" Richard asked, wondering where Xander was going with things.

Xander smiled. "I'm saying that if the slayers are ever to be part of a military, then it'll be a military of their homeland. And so, I would want access. Full access to the Faerie Realm. The full rights and privileges of a citizen for myself and everyone else that fights. Full rank."

"That's something I'll have to discuss with the Court." Richard swallowed. Xander was nothing if not crafty. Bargaining for a seat at the table, while promising nothing. That was skill.

"Then, I cannot consider allowing utilization of my forces in your fight. Not without something in writing up front." Xander knew that he was over committing. He couldn't tell the slayers what to do. But, it would give him some time to find a way around. Or at the very least, give them something worth fighting for. So that they wouldn't be drafted.

"Okay." Richard responded, simply. Not trying to tie himself into anything. He was a Faerie. He knew how deals were made.

"There's one more thing." Xander said, delicately. He wondered how best to broach the subject. "The Dark Congress. I want your seat."

Richard was shocked, but tried to hide it. Xander could tell though. "How did you know about that? Humans haven't been a part of that for thousands of years."

Xander smiled briefly. Giving nothing away. It hadn't been easy to get to where he was. But, he didn't have to tell that to everybody. "You forget who you're talking to? Still, I need the spot."

"I don't know if they'll agree to that." Richard stated. He wondered how Xander had known about it. Humans had a distinct way of not noticing the world around them. Intentionally blind to the threats that surrounded them. Except for the few chosen that saw the world for what it was. And those few tended to be the most dangerous of them all.

"I'm sure it'll take some effort. But you need to remember. If you decide to come here. Without invitation, you won't be welcome. Not anymore." Xander stated. He looked at his friend.

"And what do you intend at the conference? To close your borders. To drive all demons and nonhumans from the surface and depths of your world?" Richard asked.

"I remember that a long time ago, the demons left this world." Xander reflected on the history of his planet. He had first heard bits of the Truth from Giles. So very long ago. It wasn't even half of it. "Driven off by a coalition of the willing. Humans and not. Over time you left too. It wasn't your world to protect. That was okay. It wasn't your home. But, you let your criminals and rogues wander back. Glad to get rid of them. And those that stayed were a plague upon my world. To feed and grow. Your problem. My home."

"What's your point, Xander?" Richard asked. It wasn't the first time the criticism had been made. But, it was usually pointed at one criminal in particular. This was a wider, and more political issue.

"My point is simple. We're stuck cleaning up your messes. And you still think you have the right to dictate what goes on here." Xander replied. He wasn't really angry with Richard about it. The fact of the matter was that the Faerie warrior was one of the few willing to take the responsibility for their wayward citizens. Most dimensions did not have such people. "Don't get me wrong, we've let you. The slayer. Singular. For so long that was what protected the world. Because of some guys that wanted their bit of power without taking the responsibility to use it wisely. But, things are changing. The groups are organized. Its one world. And it's about time my people stepped up. And started making the decisions regarding their own world."

"Is this it then? Xander? Humans versus everything else?" The faerie shot back.

"No. I would like as many allies as I could get. You and yours included. But, this is our world. As you have yours. You are a guest on this planet. Do not act like you own it." Xander responded, with equal fervor. "It's been a long time since you've made your presence known on Earth. We've caught up."

"Is that a threat?" Richard cocked his head. It wasn't a completely new side to Xander. But, it was something that he hadn't seen directed towards him. It was a spine, and more than a little impressive.

"I'd like it not to have to be one. A war between our peoples would end disastrously for both of us. And leave the multiverse open to forces that would threaten both of us." Xander said. "I don't want to have either happen. Let's face it. You've helped the situation along. To bring it to this point. Your queen is critical that the power vacuum is being filled by enemies close to your home. But, the truth is that you brought that on yourselves. So don't be criticizing us. We were facing the end of our world. They were merely gathering at your gates. And you didn't care. Because we weren't you. But, we stopped them. And now their licking their wounds. And looking at targets they've left aside for us. And now you come here, and blame us? Maybe you should look in the mirror before thinking the state of the game is our fault."

"You have a point." Richard nodded. He had been there for some of it. The major wars had been over long before he had been born. But, the last skirmishes had been his training grounds. The human was right. They would not be in such a place, if they had been more proactive. They had made their own compromises. Ones that were coming back to make themselves felt.

"It didn't have to become this. Thousands of years ago, when you were at your strongest, the enemy was driven off. They should have been stopped permanently. But, you, or we, pulled back as well. And that gave them the chance to reassert themselves." Xander continued, not really saying anything Richard didn't know. But, maybe he had to hear, from a voice not his own. "I want your spot. And as a citizen, I will do my best to represent the Faerie. As I will for my world."

"Your words have merit." The Faerie said, after a moment. "I will advise that we follow this path. I think it may be the only hope that any of us have. If we are to survive."

"Tell me something?" Xander asked. "If I hadn't met you, would your people have been so polite about this?"

Richard shook his head. "No. Not if they had gotten more scared than they are now. They would have come in and taken what they wanted. Conscripts. Slaves. Some habits die hard."

"And we would never have even known what was going on before." Xander looked down for a moment, then smiled. "Then I guess it's a good thing we're friends."

"Yes it is." Richard replied. He smiled back. "For more than that. It is an honor knowing you Alexander Harris."

"Why yes. Yes it is." Xander smirked. He walked out of the kitchen and gathered his things together. "I've got to go. There are things on my side of the border that I've got to take care of. Before I can do this thing."

"I understand. Let me know what forces you can add, and I'll see what I can do about hiring the, patsy." Richard replied. He picked up Xander's drink and tossed it in the trash bin. "Tell me something. How much do you think she actually knows?"

Xander looked back at him. "I doubt it's that much. Thomas is a rule breaker, but only of the rules that get in his way. If he broke the Vow, it'd put him in more danger. I doubt he'd do that. Not for her. Not for her."

"I agree." Richard said, coming out of the kitchen. "But, it may come out if this doesn't play out well. She's out of the game isn't she?"

Xander nodded.

"Then I don't think the Lady is going to like it if things come out." Richard responded.

"Meaning, my head's on the chopping block too. The others' as well. Before we have anything going." Xander sighed. "Swell."

"Basically, yes." Richard smiled. "You never know. All the things that have gone badly lately, things are bound to get better one of these days."

"One of these days."

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Author's Note: DXM: Thanks. I think that some fandoms' stories don't get as many reviews as others' do. Or maybe it's the main characters of the stories. Some are not as popular as others.

And my forum's pretty unused now. Kind of sad, though I can't really think of anything to add at this point.

Anyways, thanks for the reviews. More would be nice, but I can't complain.


	45. Chapter Forty Four

**Chapter 44: No Fate But What You Make**

"They're going to do what?" Xander exclaimed, eye wide open. Curtis looked at him from across the aisle of the plane they were flying in. He frowned. They were headed to some undisclosed location. Somewhere in the middle of the country based on the direction. An interrogation facility co-opted for their use. Far enough away that the field men would not know where the main prison complex was, while near enough so as to not unduly risk the security of the prisoner during transport. It was a hassle, but security was tight for good reason. The stakes were too high to be lax simply because of improbabilities.

"You're sure." Xander said, more quietly into the phone. He listened as Rudy filled him in on the Council's plan. It was rather depressing. He looked out the window at the ground that was moving past.

"Yes. The bugs are clear. They're going to see if they can find Finn." Rudy confirmed. He was sitting in his apartment. He had felt some of what was coming. While he had primarily taken charge of organizing the patrol schedule for the slayers, he had sat in on the intelligence meetings that the Council held. The Level 6 man had also contributed some intelligence of his own. Up till a couple of days ago. He was being pushed out now. Isolated. That didn't mean he didn't know what was going on however. "And they're going to have him detain you. Similar I guess to what they did to Ethan Rayne. Well, before we got him. They're going to go through Buffy to get a hold of him. What's the current situation with her?"

"Complicated. I think if push comes to shove, Buffy's going to side with Giles over me." Xander thought of what he would soon be doing with Richard. Just about the worst timing for that. It certainly wouldn't bring Buffy over to his side. He closed the intelligence files in front of him, concentrating on the conversation. "You know where Riley is?"

"Yeah. North Carolina." Rudy replied. After the name had come up, he'd started to dig up as much as he could on the players involved. For the military personnel, it wasn't that difficult. Not with his clearance. "Fort Bragg with the rest of the field teams from the DRI. No real job yet for them yet. They're mostly on guard duty and other make work with the non-military personnel housed on base. They're still figuring out what do with them. They've got a taste of what's out there. I don't think it's so easy for them to simply stop."

"Send me everything you can about him and anybody else that might come with him. Personnel records, psych profile. Everything. On his family as well." Xander thought about the situation. Riley was still military. Which presented its own problems. And advantages. One being that he was assigned to duty not related to the supernatural. He couldn't simply leave in order to arrest someone. Although, given how annoyed Riley must be at being pulled off his assignment, he may not care. And his team was still together. That could prove troublesome. He didn't want to come to blows with someone on the same side. Especially since they had the same employer.

He may have to pull Rudy out as well. As far as the Council was concerned, the liaison would be a liability if they made a move against Xander. Despite the help the administrator had given on how best to revise how the Council was running things on the ground. They'd probably figure he'd supply Xander with information as well as do anything he could to support Xander in escaping. They weren't wrong on that count. But, such actions probably wouldn't be necessary. "Do the tapes say anything else?"

"Not exactly." Rudy said. After learning that there had been an attempt to break into Xander's mind by the Council, he had reviewed all of the transcripts from the wiretaps and the bugs inside the Council house. "We have your briefing on tape, but after you leave, we get interference. It's all static. The taps are active now, so it was a localized effect. Unintentional interruption through some type of background magical field. I'm thinking bleedthrough from some type of spell."

"Probably the magical output from dropping an invisibility spell. Willow's spell." Xander reckoned that was what let Willow stay out of sight in the room. And it would explain why they had no foreknowledge of the attempted breach. "We're going to have to work on that. See if Cindy can find some type of shielding for the taps. If they get smart and start using magical shielding..."

"Already on it. But, there's nothing to fix it off hand so far. Anyway, the tech division's on it." Rudy said. He'd had the same suspicion. It just went to show, information was king. Information was life. "Anything else?"

"Make sure we have a copy of their system before you have to leave. Before you get pulled out. And make sure a team's in place in case you need a hard extraction." Xander thought about the other assets the Council had. There weren't that many that they didn't have as well. "And make sure we have a full inventory of the texts we have. I want copies of what we don't already have. Check with Cindy to see what's unique."

"Okay." Rudy said. "We just got the latest data dump yesterday, but I'll make sure we have another if I have to leave. Should we leave the backdoors in place?"

"Yeah. Make sure Fallon checks them out first to make sure they're all up to date and out of sight." Xander knew that Willow had been the one to design the system they were using. It meant that, while powerful, it was hardly the latest in design nor security. She wasn't a full time tech head anymore. She concentrated on magic, but still took the place of computer expert. Though to be fair, there wasn't anyone else to do the job. Didn't mean they shouldn't have been looking though.

Fallon on the other hand was a techno geek through and through. On top of everything technological, he had been able to penetrate the Council system with relative ease. Especially with Xander's low level access as a starter. One of the benefits of division of labor. He could have his experts stay expert on their given fields without them worrying about other responsibilities.

"Got it." Rudy said. He didn't need to write any of it down. His highly organized mind was a boon to his work. "That should be everything we can use. Anything else?'

"I don't think so. Just get me what you have on Riley and his people." Xander responded. "And get ready to leave. I don't want them to see you being there as a situation to be taken advantage of. I don't want any undue casualties in this."

"I understand. Bye." Rudy hung up, needing to get to work.

Xander closed his cell phone. He looked at his partner, who was looking at him, wondering about the previous outburst.

"Anything wrong?" Curtis asked.

"Nothing that we can't handle. Unfortunately, the Council may be turning on us." Xander said.

"And the slayers?" Curtis had wanted to bring them in. All of them, though that was technically unfeasible. They were a good bunch of kids that had gotten a raw deal. They deserved better than to be wasted by the Council.

"I don't have enough control over enough of them. If it comes down to it, I'll have to take who I can, but those that choose to stay I'll have to let go." Xander looked down. He knew the numbers. 1800 or so. There were too many slayers to be able to develop a good enough rapport to turn them all. And there hadn't been enough time to have his slayers work their way through them all either. Not to mention those that might have a vested interest in some of the other Council members. "I can't let this turn into a fight. Not now."

"And if and when it comes down to us versus the Watchers Council?" Curtis questioned. He didn't much like those choices either.

"Then it becomes a fight." Xander turned back to the window. Watching the land get dark as the sun started to set.

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Jesse was seated in the room before him. Handcuffed to the metal table in the center of the room. Xander noted how tired the prisoner looked. He was in rough shape. Some bruises. And what was likely sleep deprivation. It had been continuous once he had been prepped. Days. With different people. He'd been worked over hard. And still hadn't talked. He had to hand it to his old friend. He was tough as nails. Xander looked through the one way mirror at him. The last interrogator was on his way out, unsuccessful.

Some of this team was there in the observation room to. Jack had had his shot too. He hadn't had any luck either.

"Anything?" Xander asked, as McKinnon walked in. He was an expert interrogator that had been pulled off another job. Filled in quickly and sent to work. Highly professional and skilled though. Still, he had failed to produce any viable information. It was infuriating.

The agent shook his head. He'd made his bones cracking insurgents in Iraq. As well as going after Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. More effective than most. Still not really a help here. "No. He's not talking. Not to us anyways. It's been constant, but nothing. He's a believer. That's a tough nut to crack. Not without getting bogus information."

"Right." Xander looked through the window again. "What have you tried?"

"The usual. Stress positions. Truth drugs. Sonics. Light physical stuff. Your man Jack wanted to go in with the hard stuff, but we pulled him off. Curtis tried the usual FBI stuff; didn't work either." The former CIA agent shrugged. "I don't think harder stuff is going to work any better. Usually doesn't at any rate. Despite what they say."

Xander nodded. "I'm going in."

Xander walked out of the room.

"Watch out everyone, he's going in." Jack said sarcastically. He was mainly annoyed at himself for failing to extract any information himself. And for getting pulled off when he started with the pliers. Apparently they didn't think it would work like he said.

"Jack." Abby said watching through the window. "Shut up."

Xander walked in and sat down that the metal table. He looked at the fellow Sunnydale alum. The man looked just as bad close up. "Jesse. You look like hell."

The prisoner just glared at him. "Your turn now?"

"You could say that." Xander said. He leaned back in his seat. "Tell me what I want to know. You know, everything. The whole plan."

"Man, you really think that's going to work?" Jesse cocked an eyebrow. One of his eyes was bloody. It was kind of disconcerting.

"Look. We both know how this is going to end. You're going to tell me everything." Xander said flippantly. "Just make it easier and tell me now."

"Right, that's so going to make me talk. Man, you really aren't good at this are you?" Jesse said, warming up a little. At least he wasn't getting hit by phone books or anything anymore.

"Better than you might think. Look I could water board your ass. Use an iron. Rip out your fingernails, but I know that's not going to work. It never really works anyhow. That's just pain for pain's sake." Xander leaned in close. Laying his hands on the table. "And honestly, I don't want to. Not really, despite what you've done. You're my bud."

"Good cop now?" Jesse cocked his head. "I've seen the same tv shows you have. Just leave it alone and do what you're going to do to me."

"I suppose." Xander stated. "The thing is, I already know what Sekhmet is trying to do. Nothing more than what any other penny ante demon or god has tried. This is old hat. So don't go thinking you're some kind of revolutionary. I've done this before."

Jesse tried to not react to the name of his goddess. To anybody else it would have been unnoticed. Not to Xander though. Not to him. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Xander smiled, a death's head grin. "Please. You forget who you're talking to here. You can't bluff me. That daughter of Ra is not going to win."

"You think you're so good? You've caught me. You've got the crystal. You might even have a couple of other wins under your belt. But that ain't nothing, man." Jesse said, smiling back. He may be caught, but that didn't mean much in light of how powerful his goddess was. "This has been going on for so long that you can't even begin to comprehend the scale. We don't need this to win. Only to make it less bloody. More people are going to die because you're trying to stop us. Do the right thing. Let us, let me finish my work. Let me save you."

"Really?" Xander said. He wondered if it was true. Probably was if the look in Jesse's eyes was right. "Cause here I was thinking it was Sekhmet wanting to take over and or destroy the world. Depending on your point of view. Still, not of the good for this little ball of dirt."

"My goddess wants to save the world." Jesse stated, defiantly. Devout. "So do I. Let me."

"Sure. Just like the crusaders wanted to save the Holy Land. Fuck the Muslims right." Xander retorted. "A religious war? Really. That's what this is all about? You really think I give a shit about that? Hell, you didn't even go to Sunday School. So don't sit there and lecture me about your religious views. I don't care."

"No." Jesse shook his head. Disappointed. "I guess you really don't."

"Please. You're trying to save my soul here? For what? Sekhmet? Think that's going to save the world?" Xander was a bit hurt by the expression, but threw it off. "I'm talking about innocent people here. I'm talking about people that don't have to die. You're going to be stopped. It's only a question of how many of those people have to die in the process. How many people are going to get murdered before you realize that you aren't going to win this one. It doesn't matter what you believe. All that matters is that people are going to die if this becomes a shooting war."

He wasn't getting anywhere. He hadn't had the highest hope given the experienced men that had gone before him, but the thought was that maybe their prior relationship would help sway things. Evidently not. The man was a fanatic. Devout in all the ways that made the religious dangerous. True believer. Still, there were a couple of other tricks he could play. Truth mixed with lies. And some guesswork theorized by those in the know. "I know the rest of the device is in Lemuria. I even know that it's off the coast of India."

Jesse didn't try to hide his reaction to that. "How…You don't know that."

Xander grinned. Looks like the wild guess worked. Jesse must have been softened up enough. And he was still human after all. They made mistakes. Especially when confronted with the unexpected. "Yeah I do. I just don't know exactly where it is anymore. Been a long time since I was there. So tell me where it is now. And end this."

"No. You're not going to convince me. And I'm not going to talk." Jesse said, insolent. "If you already know what's going on, then you can try to stop it on your own. My goddess will prevail over the unworthy."

"Then tell me anyway. If she's so powerful then tell me and let me save these people." Xander responded. "Look. I'm sure you have your contingency plans. Let me have something. Cause right now, more people are going to die if I don't get something. The men outside. They're going to start this thing, with or without any intel from you. And they're going to be going hard. People are going to get hurt. This needs to stop. Tell me something. Something I can use. Even if it's only for us to figure out that we're wrong."

Jesse said and did nothing.

"You really don't care anymore do you?" Xander said, softly. He was disappointed himself. In Jesse and in himself for some reason. "People are going to die. Good people that don't know about Sekhmet. That aren't going to care if you win. Or if we win. Or if you're right. Or wrong. Or if we're right. Or if we're wrong. Hell, for all I know, you are right. But, I don't care. Because, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop you. And if it takes a hundred more deaths. A thousand. I'm going to do it. Because that's my job. Because that's what I believe in."

He took a breath and looked at his friend. Jesse still didn't respond.

"You think you're right? You think you're the good guy in this? You think it's worth it? Then by all means, don't say anything." Xander stated. He continued to look at his friend. No expression on his face. As if the words weren't getting through. "You're going to let me murder all those people, because you're right. Because you're the good guy. Because you know that deep down, you're doing the right thing. And all those little people just don't matter. Just know, that the big damn hero you are, is why they're going to die. Cause of your plan. You, the hero in this story. And, you know what? Then that makes me the villain. I'm the bad guy here. I will kill, murder, innocent people in order to stop you. There isn't anything I wouldn't do to stop you, the big damn hero. So the ball's in your court. So go on with your plan. Save the world, sacrifice who you want to while you're at it. Just know, I'll be there to stop you. And I'll kill just as many, if not more, to do it. I just hope you can accept that. I just hope that in your faith, that that is an acceptable sacrifice. It's been millennia? Why now? Why sacrifice so many for it to happen right now?"

Still nothing.

"But, I guess she knows." Xander continued to rant. "She's a goddess right? She's saving the world, so it's a worthy sacrifice. By for the life of me, I can't fathom how a goddess could actually want that slaughter to happen. And I can't imagine what must have happened to you to allow that to happen either. This isn't you, man. Or maybe I just never knew you at all."

Xander got up and started for the door. He heard Jesse fidget.

"Wait." Jesse said. Xander had been ranting and raving. Some of it was nonsense. But, some of it was truth. Xander was his friend. And he could see it in Xander's eye. All the things he said he would do. The man wasn't lying. The murder of innocents. he would do it. But, then again, if he did nothing, then he was doing the same.

They were on opposite sides, but he had tried his hardest to fix things without violence. His goddess used her power as a hammer at times. Too many times. To beat her problems into submission. That was not what he believed in. Not what he thought his goddess wanted to bring into the world. She may view things on the grand scale. That was her right. As a god. He was a human, and he saw people. That was his duty. As a human. And as the faithful, he knew that there had to be a better way to accomplish his goddess' goals than bloodshed. There had to be or it would make what he was trying to accomplish meaningless. Sacrifices were always necessary, but they should not be made so easily. They had to be earned. There had to be another way. A better way. "There's an army. She's probably going to send them after you if you don't give it up. And there's nothing they wouldn't destroy to get to you. I've seen them. They can't go free. Not over something as small as this. I can't let that happen."

"Then save lives." Xander said, not turning around. "Tell me everything and maybe nobody innocent has to die. She'll get another chance, but right here it can change. It doesn't have to go down with so many dying because of our fight. What do you know?"

Jesse looked down, broken. In all his service to his goddess, he had seen himself as the hero. The savior. The one that would save the world from self-caused destruction. But, he couldn't simply allow innocent people to die to make that a reality. That would make him just like Xander and he couldn't allow that. Sekhmet was a goddess, she would have another chance. But, here and now, he had a chance to save lives. Saving the world wasn't worth dooming it in the process. "I know where her army is. I know where she's operating out off. I know where the rest of the machine is. You're right, it is in Lemuria."

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Xander sat in silence on the plane ride back to New York. He had ranted a bit. It was all faked. To imply a certain desperation. That was the idea. It didn't mean he didn't feel it inside anyway. Even if he couldn't show it for real. He knew why Jesse had broken. And it wasn't because villains usually talked when the threat of pain was applied. It was because Jesse really wanted to save innocent people. Because he really saw himself as one trying to help the world. To save it. And that Jesse knew that he would kill them in order to stop what was coming. Hard to know where the line between was anymore.

Abby took a seat next to him. She saw the look on his face. He was about ready to pop from all the pressure. She sympathized. "You want to talk about it?"

Xander looked at her. "Not really."

"It's not your fault you know." The slayer said. "You did what you had to do. He has to be stopped. The enemy has to be stopped."

"Yeah. But, I don't exactly feel good about that right now." Xander thought about what he had said. He hadn't lied. He would have sacrificed so many to win. Too many. Just as many as Jesse would have, if Jesse had had the stomach for it. It was rehashing old truths though. The difference was that his old friend, in the end, hadn't had it in him. He on the other hand, did. He just had to believe that he was doing the right thing. And that whatever their actions may be, he always looked for the one that didn't have people dying. Even if it couldn't go that way. And that made him different.

He looked out the window. It was coming up to be two in the morning. Still dark though. They hadn't had to be there long. Jesse had spilled his guts and they knew what they needed to. Of course it had happened a bit too easily in some ways. Xander, his friend goes in, and out pops the intel. It being him could have done it. Or it could be an elaborate ploy. Or it could be the honest truth. The intelligence was being reviewed because of those swirling questions, but they'd have their next move soon. Xander, on the other hand, had his own concerns.

"You think you're the bad guy now?" Abby said. She laid a hand on Xander's. "He's wrong. There are no real innocent or guilty to them. Not really. They just see the ones that they want to see, and those left don't matter. They make decisions because they view people as beneath them. Beneath acknowledgement. As if they were unimportant. You may sacrifice people, but I know you don't do it willingly. You make the sacrifice, because you think that humanity deserves to be saved. Even if it takes some of them to save many. That makes you different. Sometimes there just is collateral damage. You can't change that. You just have to make sure it's worth it."

"I know." Xander said. He didn't pull away from her touch though. He did feel a bit better. "Thanks."

Abby smiled. "You are hardly what you think you are. You're better than that. And Vi wouldn't love you so damn much if you weren't. None of us would."

Xander looked at her and smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem." Abby removed her hand and started to stand up. Xander took a hold of her arm to let her know he needed to talk to her.

"Wait." Xander said. "There's something I need your help on."

Abby sat down again. "What's up?"

"There's something coming. Something bad. And I need your help to head it off." Xander said. "I know you think you know about the truth of the world. The vampires. And demons. Even the multiple dimensions that exist."

"Right." Abby wondered where he was going with this.

"There's something else. It's the Sídhe." Xander said. "The realm of the Faeries."

"The what? Fairies?" Abby said, confused. "They're real? I've never heard of them being real before."

"Shhhh. Yes." Xander said, softly. "They live in a realm in another dimension. They visit here sometimes, not as much as before, but sometimes. They're real secretive of their presence. I wasn't supposed to find out about them. But, sometimes, things happen. Anyway, I know about them. They're a powerful group, in their own dimension as powerful if not more so than Earth. And there aren't as many limitations to their interactions with Earth and other dimensions as with other groups. They're officially neutral and unaligned, so they can operate by different rules than most of the other realms."

"Where are you going with this? Why are you telling me?" Abby asked. She didn't know much about interdimensional politics, that wasn't her role. But, she understood the gist of what Xander was saying. Just not why he was saying it.

"Because the slayers are going to be seen as an asset in other dimensions. Sidhe included, and they have more of a chance to try to make use of them. Right now, I have enough pull to make sure that none of them simply get snatched." Xander explained. "Unfortunately, that's not going to hold forever. The Fair Folk aren't necessarily bad. And they have powerful magic. But, the wind's shifted. And they're getting antsy. No one reacts well in that situation."

"And you want us to help them?" The slayer asked. She knew that others might be angry at the presumption of what Xander was seemingly asking. But, she knew the man. She knew that he didn't do things easily, and not without considering the sides of it. "You're not making them seem like allies."

"Not really. Though they're not the enemy either. But, we're going to have to help anyway. We need their support, and they can do too much against us if we don't." Xander said, not liking the situation any more than when he had discussed it with Richard. "There's a trial run. Against a rogue Faerie that calls himself the Immortal. I'm bringing him in to stand trial for his crimes against humanity. And I need your help. Slayer help."

"Why haven't you told me about this before?" Abby asked. She knew that Xander kept things from her. Always with good reason. "Wait. The Immortal. Buffy's boyfriend?"

Xander nodded. "Got it in one."

"Okay. But, if we're a part of this already, then why haven't you told us?" Abby repeated.

"Not allowed to. They have something called the Vow. It means that none of them can tell any mortal about their nature when they're operating on our plane. Or that person and the Faerie is executed. That includes mortals telling mortals. And it wouldn't be an easy death." Xander replied. "It's their highest law. Not even their criminals and scumbags would violate it casually."

"But, you know. And you're telling me now?" Abby looked around, making sure nobody was listening.

"I found out by accident. And my life was spared by a good man, who defended me against his brethren. I owe him a lot. And now, there are very good reasons to involve the rest of you. The Faerie Court is allowing this. That's big for them." Xander explained. "I need a team of slayers to back me up on this. But first, I wanted to explain things to you. This is not what I wanted to do this. I didn't want to involve you in any other fights. We have enough here to worry about. But,..."

"But, we're valuable. And there are always going to be those that want to use us." Abby knew what Xander was going to say.

"Yeah." Xander nodded. "This is the best shot we have at making sure you have as much authority as possible to determine your own fates."

"And are you using us too." Abby stated, not critical though.

"Yeah. But, I'm trying to make sure that what I do is the best for you." Xander couldn't look at her. He wondered if it was true. He tried. It wasn't always his intention to make decisions for others because he knew, or thought he knew, better, and he'd be the first to admit that he couldn't see everything. He couldn't be sure that he was right. Not really.

"Xander. I know you. I know that you're doing the best for us." Abby said softly. "What do you want me to do?"

Xander smiled briefly. "I need a team. Slingers. And good hand to hand people. Buffy is probably going to be there. She'd kick my ass if I tried to take her down easy. And, I don't want to have to kill her. Not over this."

"So you want one of us to take her down?" Abby knew that it wasn't an easy thing to ask. Slayers didn't fight other slayers. Not unless there was something major going down. If the slayer went rogue. They were all family.

"Not permanantly. I need someone fast and strong enough to do it." Xander replied. He knew what he was asking. Especially with what happened hours before. He understood. Better than most non-slayers would. "Which of the girls are skilled enough to do it?"

Abby considered. "There's Monet. Dominique. And definitely Vi. Myself."

"Colleen?" Xander inquired about the Hellion that wasn't mentioned.

The slayer shook her head. "No. She's a damn good shot. And has better senses than all of us. But, she's not the best at hand to hand. Buffy's not a really good fighter. But, she's got stamina. I don't think Colleen would cut it. You have a preference?"

"Well Faith needs to be there. And I haven't seen all the slayer on slayer training." Xander said, not cracking wise at the obvious double entendre. "What's your suggestion?"

"Faith?" Abby asked about the first part. "Why do you need her there?"

"She's the Slayer now for the Cleveland runs." Xander replied. "She's the leader, so she needs to know what's going on. And how far it's going. I need her there to make sure she knows, and can handle what's coming our way. And the other slayers?"

"Myself." Abby stated after some thought. "But I don't think that would be best for this one. Vi. If you might go up against another slayer, Vi would be your best bet. She's strong, quiet, but she's got strength when it counts. And then some. Especially when she's angry."

"What do you mean?" Xander asked. He hadn't done anything to get Vi pissed at him, so he didn't have a good idea of what she meant.

"Remember when that douchebag tried to slip a roofie into Chao-Ahn's drink that time when we went clubbing?" Abby had taken the girls out before. After her existence had been revealed. She had trained with some of them too. To see if they were picking up the skills they needed. She liked hanging out in Cleveland. For a number of reasons.

"It's come up. I thought you guys had him arrested." Xander remembered hearing about it, but didn't remember any of the details.

"Yeah. We did." Abby nodded. "After Vi broke both of his arms."

"Vi smash, eh?" Xander grimaced. "Okay. Remind me not to get on her bad side."

"I think she's your best shot." Abby stated.

"But, she's my girlfriend. She'd be emotionally invested in this." Xander said, not needing to spell everything out his team slayer.

"Yeah. And she'd kick your ass if you left her out of this." Abby shot back. "I think you're trying to keep her out of this Faerie thing."

"No. She'd be in it already. One way or another. She's too good not to get caught up in it sooner or later." Xander responded.

"Then you're trying to trying to protect her." Abby knew there weren't that many possibilities. There were only a few things that drove Xander's actions. Especially when it came to the slayers. Even more so when it came to a particular one. "It's not going to affect her judgment."

It hadn't affected his command so far. Part of that being that Vi was mostly a patrol slayer back in Cleveland. She was in Arizona as support. That had been about it in terms of working together. She hadn't run any ops under his direct command yet, not as his girl anyway. That could change. And it could become a problem. If it affected his judgement.

Xander shrugged. "I guess I'm worried about her having to face Buffy. That can't possibly go well."

"I get that. But, she's your best option." Abby said. Xander was nothing if not loyal. She knew it was a test run. And he needed his best slayers up there to prove themselves as more than just cannon fodder. And to take down the most famous slayer there was. He needed the best, no matter who she was or what personal connection he had to her. "And her emotions give her strength. She may get angry, but she's clear headed about it. You've, we've, taught her well. She won't disappoint you."

"Okay." Xander answered after some thought. He knew that his feelings for Vi were affecting his decision making. She was his love. But, she was also a slayer. He knew he'd have to get to thinking that way. With his thick head, it was just taking a while. "And you don't have to say it. I know that Vi's a slayer. I'm not the guy that wants her at home making...dinner, safe. I'm trying. I'm not completely new at this, you know? It won't be a problem. It's just hard sometimes you know? She's my girlfriend."

"I know." Abby responded. She felt the same way about Satsu. The Japanese slayer was one of the best swordsmen, or women, there was, but it didn't mean that she didn't worry about her girlfriend either.

Xander sighed. "Slayers know slayers."

Abby nodded. Then echoed back. "Slayers know slayers."

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Author's Note: smith: I have the general plot lines for this major arc fairly outlined. Though it's not broken out in chapters.

Bolo: It's getting read. 88,802 hits at last count. I don't know if that's a lot or not, though I guess it depends on the breakdown of the hits per chapters.

Anyway, thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing.


	46. Chapter Forty Five

**Chapter 45: Welcome Back**

"Faith. It's good to see you." Xander said. He leaned against the counter in the apartment he had rented out for the slayers. "You know the rest. Vi. Colleen. Monet. You might have even seen Abby around a couple of times."

The slayers had situated themselves around the room. Vi next to him. Colleen and Monet on chairs. With Faith on the couch. Abby leaned against a wall in the main room of the small apartment. They had arrived from Cleveland rather recently. Xander had a lot of pull when it came to quick flights. And Cleveland wasn't that far from New York City.

"You're probably wondering why I wanted you all here." Xander continued. Only Faith looked a bit confused. The others had been filled in completely by Abby. Faith, only somewhat. "I have a job. A big one. The slayers are a major player now. That means it's not just about the streets. About the neighborhoods. The cities. It's about countries. Worlds. Dimensions."

"Where are you going with this Xander?" Faith asked. She had seen the others preparing to leave. They weren't exactly subtle about it. When pressed, she had been told that they were going to see Xander for a job. Similar to how they had left to go to Arizona, only this time they didn't try to hide. The surprising thing was that she had been asked to go along too. She couldn't exactly say no. For a number of reasons.

"You got a taste, I expect. The First Evil. The first real look at an army of darkness. And that, that was a small one. That's just one." Xander chuckled. "Wolfram and Hart, I'm sure you've heard of them, have another. More than one. Those were major players on this plane of existence. But, they aren't the only ones out there. And not the only ones with their eyes on Earth."

"So what? We're screwed then?" Faith noticed that none of the rest was particularly concerned about what was being revealed. Xander had obviously not been so secretive of what he was doing to everyone.

"Not quite. Not yet anyway." Xander replied. "See, where there are armies of darkness, there are forces opposed. Not necessarily the good guys, not an army of light, but guys we can make an alliance with. We're talking other major players. Not the Powers that Be, but the Powers that Bring the Pain. I happen to know some that are involved. And they're, we're, making a move. Right here. Right now. The Hellions are backing me up on this. I asked you here because I need you involved."

Faith looked at the slayers around her. She knew who was in charge of them. It wasn't her. And it wasn't the Council. "Why? Seems like you have a handle of things already."

"I'm not going to be around there forever. I don't know if Robin's told you, but they're coming after me. Soon. Maybe not Robin, but enough of the leadership that it means I can't walk freely around Cleveland. And I'm not going to be taken. So I'm going to need you take care of things for me, on the homefront." Xander said casually, not revealing how exactly he knew what was going to go down. He glanced at his girlfriend. "To take care of your sisters. All of them."

"What are you talking about?" Faith was confused. Robin had been uneasy about something, but hadn't revealed what it was. She was somewhat relieved that her boyfriend evidently might not have sided with attempting to harm the man in front of her. Whatever Xander was, whatever he had done, he wasn't on the other side. He might not have been on the other side, but he wasn't one of the bad guys. Her time on the other side had given her enough experience to tell the difference.

"I'm talking about what happened in Arizona. They see it as a sign that they can't trust me. To be fair, I can't really blame them." Xander shrugged. "But, the simple fact that it comes down to is that this is a big world. A big universe. I'm working on a different level. And I can't tell you everything. The past should mean something though. I should have been given a bit of latitude. But, it's not important right now whether or not I'm given it. The reality is that I need you to lead them now. Before things get any worse. And so I need to make sure you know what you need to. And so, you're here. At my request."

"And what's that X?" Faith could feel the frustration in Xander's voice. She couldn't exactly blame him. And he was certainly making some amount of sense. She had had to re-evaluate him in recent days. The commands. The missions. Arizona. It had led to a single conclusion. However he had changed, or not, he was a different man. Not some boy anymore. He made decisions, and people lived or died.

"The truth of the world. The fast version. There are beings known in myth and legend, as Faeries, don't laugh, that exist in a realm outside our own. They aren't exactly evil, though they have their less than happy go lucky types." Xander explained. "And, we're being offered an alliance. Sidhe, the Faerie dimension, it's big. It's a major player as large as Earth in their realm. They have a lot they can offer. They have clout. They have muscle. They have magic. They have all the things we need if we expect to survive what's coming."

"And what's that?" Faith asked, mind blown by the scale of things. It was bewildering.

"The end. The end of everything if we don't win." Xander said, seriously. "One is coming in to town in a little while. Calls himself, the Immortal. He's not exactly a nice guy. And yes, it's the same one that Buffy is dating. Yeah, I know, it's obvious, still. We've been called upon to bring him to justice. As a trial of our abilities. We pull this off, and we forge an partnership that will give us something to bring to the table when the next Wolfram and Hart comes knocking."

"You're serious?" Faith wondered if she should laugh or cry. Abby and the rest had taken the flight over to emphasize how trustworthy Xander was when it came to the war. She had paid attention given that it was her fellow slayers. Still, this was just something else. "You're serious."

"Deadly." Xander stated. "This is the big game. You either step up now, or you step aside. I'll find someone else. But, whoever she is, it won't be as good as you. I need you on this Faith. I need the Slayer."

"And Giles and the others?" Faith questioned. She tried to hide it, but she knew that she felt warmed at the praise. She wasn't just Buffy's substitute. Or replacement. She was the Slayer now. A leader amongst slayers.

Xander sighed. "Then it depends on where you stand. With the Council, or with the slayers?"

Faith clenched her jaw as she thought it over. She hadn't been given all the details. That would likely come later. This was the decision to get into the fight. Xander's fight. Despite the time he had been back, she hadn't really seen what he was doing. Not really. "What do you want me to do?"

"This one?" Xander cocked his head. "I need you to observe. Abby and the others will take care of what I need. But, I want you in this. To learn. To observe. To see what the game is really about."

"Okay." Faith nodded. "I'm in."

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Xander looked through his reports again, making sure he didn't miss anything. That's what a lot of it came down to. Paper work. It wasn't all car chases and shooting people in the face. It was wiretaps. And transcripts. And autopsy reports. Reams of papers to find that one nugget of truth that would lay the whole thing out.

Invoices. Ticket information. Reservations. The Immortal had covered his tracks somewhat, a fake identity since he couldn't go by his real name, but it wasn't a real thorough job. There was the standard security sweepup that any high profile would employ, but nothing specifically aimed at a particular security intrusion. Or type of intrusion. Either he didn't think that anybody, or Faerie, was looking for him, or he didn't care. Lucky break for him.

The reservations for Thomas and Buffy had them booked in the WaldorfAstoria. The Immortal had sprung for it. Obviously. Highly doubtful that Buffy, given her relatively meager means, would be splitting the bill. The Council paid her living expenses and something extra for her "patrol" of Rome. Guess it paid to have a wealthy sugar daddy to carry a girl given Buffy's now expensive tastes. Especially since Buffy didn't exactly have a whole lot work experience. And was a college dropout to boot. Not really her fault, but some continuing education classes probably wouldn't have hurt. Neither would a job. Guess "finding" herself didn't leave much time for that.

He was just glad that Vi was taking some classes at the local college when she could. That was something her parents liked when he'd mentioned it. That her minder was thinking about her future. Though her mom looked at him funny when he had mentioned that he was providing an education for her, and the other young women in Vi's special situation. He still didn't know what it was. It was the same with a number of the other girls; making sure they got an education outside of where to stick a stake, or how to take a building. He had never even gone to college, but had worked his way up without. Had a lot of mediocre jobs; nothing with a future. He had made it though, a lot of those who had been in his situation hadn't. Without the government paycheck, and in the civilian sector, he could still have made his way. He did too, for a while, before he got dragged back in full time. His name meant something in certain circles, and not just the alias. His real one. Where he was a builder.

His girls were slayers for life, but they didn't have to be slayers for the rest of their lives. That was just one of the things he was working on. A world that didn't need them to be sacrificed upon the altar of saving the world. But, that was neither here nor there.

Buffy, Willow, Faith, they were in it for life. None of them had the skills to hack it out in the rest of the world. Not in any meaningful capacity. And they didn't have a rich dad's safety net like Kennedy did. He wouldn't have wanted that sort of life for them. But, they made their own choices. They were adults. They were the ones that went to college. Well, most of them. At the very least, he could make sure that Faith was well taken care of. Her semi unofficial position as the Slayer of Cleveland meant he had been able to allocate resources for her in an official capacity, just in case. Trying to do that for them all would have led to too many questions. And he couldn't fund them all from the resources he had appropriated from the various targets that he had taken out. He supposed he could have simply sold the two kilos of heroin, but that would be crossing a line. Even for him. Besides, such things were best saved for their operations. Where they might need such esoteric items. It wasn't like he could use the DEA's stock for undercover work.

Level 6 had the funding of a science institution, as well as the Initiative's old funds. And some of the monies from the Department of Homeland Security budget. Quite a lot for an up and comer. It wouldn't stay at those levels forever. Not unless they started bagging some major targets. They had to get out of the red if they wanted to last the year. The super soldiers were a step forward. But, not the only thing they needed to produce.

Richard walked in, noticing Xander's zone out. He went to the central table. Xander had his own desk of to the side, with his own supplies. The operation had taken a lot of planning, with the paperwork to prove it. And it had taken some time, and money, to set up the apartment to fully plan, support, and oversee the mission. A good deal more complicated than his usual operations, though he didn't usually go after such public targets. "How's it look?"

"As expected. Buffy and Thomas. Two first class tickets. Two business class tickets for his associates, to keep them close but discretely out of the way. Along with a separate room at the Waldorf. Only two guards. They have permits so they're going to be packing. And nothing to indicate anybody was either brought over earlier, or that he's gone with extra local help." Xander looked at his friend, not really startled. He'd gained the ability to multi-task pretty well in the last year. Somewhat honed when he was in construction, demon hunting, and helper outing at the Magic Box. "Everything fits. Low key visit. Minimal protection detail. It's a vacation, not some type of official visit. With Buffy along, he's not going to be meeting any associates in his other line of work. At least, not for anything serious. He's complacent."

Richard turned on a number of the screens in the apartment. The serious ones. They were stacked on a work table that he had brought in. They showed quite a few different areas. That was part of the prep work he had done when Xander had been off doing his thing. He, along with the Aces, had been discrete. Cameras at the hotel. Cameras in the hotel garage. Taps into the airport security system. Taps into the traffic cameras. A lot of effort, but they couldn't afford to make a mistake. If word got out, the Faerie Court might just decide that a full burn of any witnesses, innocent or not, was in order. Neither hunter wanted that to happen.

"Good. The underground's been quiet. No word of any heavy players coming in to town any time soon." Richard looked at the small box that sat on the table next to Xander's arm. "How's the watch?"

Xander glanced at the watch beside him. His man had come through. It had cost him almost $35,000 dollars, which he'd hoped he would be able to recoup, but he had gotten the watch in time. Just a few hours before as a matter of fact. "It'll do the job."

He'd spent some time to rig it before reviewing the reports. It would be undetectable. Xander didn't think that the Immortal would be running full scans on everything around him, including his clothing. He would have relied on his security sweeps to protect him. The guy didn't like magic after all. It could actually work.

And if it didn't, well enough iron rounds to the head would stop just about anything. It was just messier, and they were technically, and somewhat annoyingly, supposed to take him in alive. The justice system, even an inhuman one, could get in the way of good cold honest revenge.

"So exactly how are you going to get close enough? Figure the details of that part out yet?" Richard sat down and watched the screens. Nothing suspicious. The Immortal hadn't arrived yet, so there was no reason for anything to be active at the site, but he wanted to be careful. He could see his target on the screen at the bottom, he was currently waiting for his bags. The other Faerie looked content. As if he had all the time in the world.

"Random chance." Xander stated. He turned around to look at the Faerie warrior. There wasn't a determinable expression on the old man's face. Then again, he could hide his feelings with the best of them. Same as him. "Cameras direct me to wear to "bump" into them, and I finagle an invitation to dinner. Then the trick, followed by the turn, the others, and finished with the takedown. Like clockwork."

"That's a lot of supposition, Xander." Richard was still scanning the monitors. He remembered the days of old when he had ridden a powerful steed. Worn metal armor into battle. His gleaming sword held high. In Sidhe and on Earth. Then it had become muskets. And rifles. And automatic weapons. Metal armor replaced by Kevlar and ceramic plates. He'd kept up with the times, but some things were still slightly unbelievable. The things that humans could create. "That's a lot of guesswork. What's the backup?"

"The Aces are going to be doing a cover as much as possible. With a couple of the slayers providing help where needed. Buffy can't detect them, and with all the background supernatural activity going on, the Immortal won't be able to distinguish, if he's even trying anymore. It's a good thing this is New York." Xander explained, though not fully. He'd brokered an exchange with the Voice. A bit of its energy to provide energetic cover to cloak the slayers, in return for the removal of an inhuman. Faerie magic was antithetical to the technological and human energies that made up the Voice of the City. Demons, while off, were still bound to the dimension. They provided a unique kick to the swirling energies that manifested itself as the gestalt. Faeries, on the other hand, were truly foreign, as were a few species of those deemed monsters. They were an inherently alien magic. Any time one walked in the City, it was like a bad rash. The Voice didn't like Richard walking around, and would want him gone. But, it would tolerate his presence. For now at least. Of course, that could have just been New York. The other Cities could have different tastes. He wondered if Rome had a Voice. It was certainly old enough to.

Xander would help with relieving the rash. Richard would just be necessary side effect of the cure. Annoying, but tolerated to get rid of the real problem. "The rest will be at the site. If things go off, then they take out the guards, while I swoop in and take him down. Hopefully without undue harm coming to Buffy."

"A grab on the street? That's risky." Richard criticized, though not unduly. Street hits weren't unheard of. For either side. But, the secrecy of the real world, a secrecy kept by both sides, existed for a reason. And that wasn't even considering the Faeries. While governments would collude and create secret organizations to fight Evil, the various groups on the side of the devils would never force the issue too intensely. And the countries of the world would never publicly admit to the existence of demons and monsters. A fully public fight would not suit either side. Demon hunters, officially sanctioned or not, would find themselves under public scrutiny with all the limitations that created. And the demons would find their efforts shown in the light of day. A total war would break out, something neither side wanted to fight right now.

Xander shrugged. "That's why it's plan B. I'd rather this not result in fisticuffs on the streets of New York. Way too many people out here. That is attention we don't need."

"Definitely." Richard agreed.

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"Willow." Giles stood over Willow's seated form. It was an intimate affair. Just the two of them. Of course, he stood. A position of authority. The conference room seemed smaller because of it. Intentionally of course. "Exactly what did you see in Xander's mind. The truth this time. If you don't mind."

"Giles. I am telling you the truth." Willow looked down at her hands. Evidently Giles and the rest of the Council leaders hadn't believed her contrived story. It hadn't been that convincing. Even to her. "I mean, there wasn't anything else important. Nothing that needs to get out anyway. It's private after all. I mean it's his head."

"Willow." Giles snapped. He walked around and stood in front of her. He took off his glasses and carefully wiped them with a handkerchief. "The truth. I understand that Xander was your closest friend. But, this is important. If he's a threat, then we need to know."

"But…" Willow sputtered.

"I know this is hard. But, we need to know. If what he is doing puts the slayers in danger, then the entire world is at risk. We cannot take that chance." Giles stated. There was real emotion in his voice. It was convincing. "Please. We need to know."

Willow shook her head. "No. This is Xander we're talking about. Did you all forget that? He wouldn't do anything to stand against us."

"Are you so sure of that? How much are you willing to risk if you're wrong." Giles asked, smoothly. "We are all that stand between the world and the darkness. All that stands in the way from it sliding into chaos and destruction."

"I'm not wrong." Willow was adamant and glared at the watcher in charge.

"You're right. This is Xander." Giles stated. He met her gaze equally. "And that clouds the issue. He may even be using that to cloud the issue. The fact is that he is operating independently. After all this time, we still don't know whom he works for or how many people he has in his employ."

"But, we've already met some of them. Eduard even knows one of them." Willow criticized. "He says that Xander is working with good people."

"So did we. Look what happened with Angel. He worked for Wolfram and Hart. Along with Spike and Wesley." Giles shot back. "They joined the enemy. We don't know if Xander has done the same. He still hasn't told us whom he works for. That in and of itself is highly suspect. Why keep it hidden if they really are on our side?"

"Is he wrong though? We've been critical of everything he's done. No matter how hard he's tried to reach out to us." Willow crossed her arms over her chest. "We haven't exactly been honest with him either."

"For security reasons. He knows too much about what we do. Too much simply because of his affiliation with us. He may have told them everything." Giles responded. Equally confrontational. "We can't take the risk of what we know and do get out."

"But, it's Xander." Willow said, defiantly.

"I know." Giles sighed, and placed his glasses back onto his face. "But, things are dangerous now. The slayers are out there and are making a statement. We can't afford to take these types of risks. Not even from friends from the past."

"I know this is hard." Giles pulled out a chair and sat down. "This is probably the hardest thing I've had to ask of you since we both began this. But, I need you to be honest. To yourself. Do you really think we can afford to take the chance that you're wrong about Xander? That he's on the other side as our previous allies have become? It's not just ourselves we have to worry about. The slayers. The witches and wizards that are a part of this. The world that we are responsible for. Are you so willing to take such a chance?"

Willow took a breath. She thought about the slayers. Things had changed. They were using guns now. There hadn't been any accidents, but she still remembered the look on Tara's face as she died. The feel of blood on her own face. The sight of the red spreading on her love's shirt. It was like Xander didn't even care about that. He had been there when Buffy had been shot. He should have known better. Xander had changed. He wasn't the fun wise-cracking guy that was there to lean on anymore. And if he had changed, so much… "There wasn't anything there."

"Willow." Giles sighed.

"No, I mean I couldn't get in there." Willow said quickly. "He had some type of shield. I've never seen anything like it. And there's nothing in the books about something like that."

"A magical shield?" Giles was startled. Xander had demonstrated no great affinity towards magic. The types of forces that would be able to employ such things were powerful indeed. And could spell trouble for them all. "And you couldn't get through?"

"I might have been able to force my way in. But, that would have killed Xander." Willow said, softly. "And I wouldn't have been able to find out anything anyway. I was useless."

Giles frowned. "Now. Now. Don't be too hard on yourself. None of us anticipated something like that occurring. There must be someone powerful in charge that is pulling the strings on this. If Xander is given such things. We need to find out more."

"What else is there?" Willow asked. She hadn't liked herself too much after breaking into Xander's mind. But, Giles could be right. The slayers could be at risk. He had already admitted to scientific testing on them. That couldn't be a good thing. She couldn't let the slayers be placed in any unnecessary danger. Especially Kennedy.

"We were thinking about getting in touch with Riley." Giles said, slightly overstating the case. It wasn't a plan that the Council had decided. It was only him. Faith hadn't been told. Only Andrew had been supportive. Robin had empathically told him that it was a bad idea. Still, the field watcher had not been able to come up with any other ideas, when pressed. Xander couldn't be allowed back in. Not with the way things were now. "But, we haven't been able to reach Buffy, and right now she's our only link to him. Perhaps you could help us with that?"

Willow nodded. She didn't like herself any more right now. But, sometimes doing the right thing could be so very hard. It was all about what you gave up. Her voice was clear though. She was doing the right thing. "I'll see what I can do."

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Xander stood on the street. He was near the WaldorfAstoria's entrance. He had dressed up a bit, so as to not be mistaken for the riffraff that could accumulate along the gutters and ghettos of New York. Had even brushed his hair. The eye patch drew some attention, but given his manner and dress, the staff outside did not pay too much attention to him. So long as he did not cause any disturbances.

He spoke into his cell phone. "Nothing odd going on around here. How's it on your end?"

"They should be coming soon. They left about half an hour ago. So they should be arriving at the hotel in a few minutes. Especially given the way he's driving." Richard replied. Ideally, and in most fiction, the target would have been driven to the city by limo. Or at the very least town car. With a hired driver. Unfortunately, in the real world, the rich and eccentric could have annoying habits like driving themselves around town. The immortal, with his billions of dollars, had a rented space at the airport parking garage. Perfect place to stash a Maserati 3200 GT. And airport parking lots, after Sept. 11th, had high security. Too much security for an off the books black op. "Wait. Got them on camera. They're coming on you near the entrance."

Inwardly, he wondered what Valeek and Jurash, the two usual bodyguards would be driving. Probably something low key, but powerful. As good bodyguards would. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to pick up what on the cameras.

"Got it." Xander said, and closed the phone. He looked around but didn't see his target. A black sporty coupe. Not sold in the US, but it had been imported. The privilege of the elite.

He picked up a shopping bag. Cover for his identity. A simple wandering one-eyed guy on his way about town. Waiting for a cab. Or taking a break. Just so happening to bump into an old friend, and her new boyfriend. He looked around again. Saw the distinctive car turn around the corner, on its way to the hotel. Time to get started.

He strolled over towards the entrance, casual enough not to be immediately suspicious. At least not from the right side. Xander watched as the black car pulled up with a squeal, letting everyone now that a real somebody was there. The staff snapped to attention, with a valet walking quickly to the driver's side. Porters stepped forward as well, ready to unload the car.

A porter opened the passenger side door to let the lady out. Buffy looked good. The pampered life in Rome certainly agreed with her. Used to the finer things in life now. Could change a person.

Xander waited until Buffy had directed the servants in placing the bags on the cart to be carried to their suite. It took a few minutes while the Immortal just stood there, bemused by his girlfriend. He carefully made his way over, as if taking a short break in the shade of the hotel's entrance.

He just hoped it worked. They hadn't exactly ended it well the last time they had met in person. But, Buffy had come along the habit of showing off her new lifestyle. The praise from the slayers that visited her had gotten to her head. Or maybe she just thought she deserved it for the years she'd protected the world. He couldn't really blame her for that. She had saved the world. That should mean something. Then again, it had to be weighed against the crap she'd pulled in that time. Same as him.

He turned slowly. To make his eye patch visible. The most distinguishing aspect of his appearance now days. That was a boon since the unmemorable tended to be easy to forget. And the eye patch could be substituted for something else when he needed to be invisible. Hard to find a guy when there were a hundred within a quarter mile that fit the same description.

He noticed as Buffy looked at him. Quizzically for a moment as if she was trying to remember where she knew him from. He had changed. Part of it physically. He'd lost the weight in the desert. Gained muscle to make up for it. But, in truth a lot of it was how he carried himself. With confidence. With certainty. Determination. A long way away from the guy that used to sleep in the backyard on Christmas to avoid confrontation. "Xander?"

Xander looked at her. He wondered how he was supposed to feel about her. Friendship. Love. Hate. Anger. Disappointment. Swirling emotions. They had history after all. Life and death tended to make them stronger. "Hey."

Book of Oz. Short and sweet. No emotional connection. Makes the other react to you.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked. She hugged him. He was a bit surprised at that. Maybe the time out of the game had made her forget the things that had been said. They had fought together for seven years. That did mean something. Or she had just decided that what he said didn't matter. She looked happy. Happier than she had been in a long time. Walking out on one's responsibilities could be very freeing it seemed.

"Not much. In town for some business." Xander returned the hug, but took a step back quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh. We're here to see an art show. My boyfriend's sponsoring the exhibit." Buffy nearly gushed. He could hear the emphasis on the boyfriend part of that. And the sponsoring part. Since most art sponsors tended to be wealthy. It was clear where her mind was. And why she may have forgotten about their arguments in the past. "But, shopping first."

Thomas stepped up. He perked a carefully sculpted eyebrow up. "And you would be?"

"This is Xander." Buffy said. "One of the guys from back in Sunnydale. You remember."

The Immortal smiled. "Ah yes. The construction worker."

Xander frowned for a moment. He covered it well though. "Actually I worked my way up to management. And you would be?"

"The Immortal." The Immortal said. He stuck a hand forward. A challenge.

Xander took it and shook it. He didn't grip it too hard, that kind of macho posturing didn't usually go over so well. There were other ways after all. "Right. I think I heard about you. Nice to meet you."

Usually he would have made a joke out of it. Something to do with the Hulk. Or the Thing. Or any character that name started with the. Course he'd outgrown such things. That wasn't the role he was playing for this job at the very least.

"We should catch up. Maybe grab a bite?" Xander said towards Buffy. He hoped it would work. And that Buffy's concentration on her boyfriend would lessen the impact of the past. "Your boyfriend should come too. There's a great place I know that isn't too far away from here. My treat?"

He noticed as Thomas damn near struck a pose. Course that was how he always looked. Tall and blonde. For now at least. Lithe, but still muscled, the Immortal looked like he had stepped out of the pages of GQ. A few females, some young, some not, were nearly swooning over him. Xander supposed he was a bit jealous. But, he knew that beneath the beautiful exterior, the only thing inside was decay. Like a peach that had been sitting out too long.

Xander watched behind them as Buffy seemed to mull it over. The two bodyguards stood a calculated distance away. Near a black sedan. Something for his minder to consider. They were close enough to react, but not close enough to crowd them. He had noticed that they had sized him up when he was approached. They weren't new at this sort of thing. But, Richard had filled him in. Demons in disguise. A bit tougher, but not hard to deal with. "C'mon. It'll give us a chance to catch up. And I'd love to get to know your new boyfriend. Certainly seems the respectable type."

And he had his own cover. Deposited in the perfect spots to stay out of sight, but still be able to cover him. He wasn't new at that sort of thing either.

"Of course. It would be nice to meet one of Buffy's friends." Thomas smiled at him. The newcomer was slightly amusing. He'd notice the frown when he had mentioned the line of work he had heard the human was in. Evidently, one that gave in to his emotions, even if he tried to cover it up. It was something he had noticed in humans. Their ability to dwell too deeply in their emotions. And be blinded by them.

Xander returned the favor. All that anger and vengeance just crying out for an outlet was pushed into the pit of his stomach. He took it and pushed it down, feeling it as it burned. None of it reached the surface.

"Good. I'll come by. Maybe around eight?" Xander said, still smiling. At least the start had been successful. It would have been bad if he'd been shot down, figuratively speaking. Would have ended quite a bit of planning, and they'd have to shift to an alternate plan. That'd have been down right embarrassing. "I'll see about getting reservations. Well, I'll let you get checked in. If you just came from the airport, you must be tired."

"The Immortal. Nice to have met you. I'll see you guys later." Xander started to walk off, a smile still on his face. It burned as well. He turned around slightly. "Don't forget."

He walked away. As he passed around the corner, he pulled out his phone, the smile dropping from this face. "Interception's done. The meet's set up."

"Good." Richard said, from his position back at the hotel as watcher. While he had wanted to come along, that hadn't been possible. He had been in Rome. Near his target. Near the bodyguards. If they were anywhere near as good as they could be, they might be able to identify him from the short contact, even if they hadn't gotten anywhere near a good look. Aura detection, or some other magical happenstance could end the mission right quick if he had gone. So he had to leave it to the humans. "Come on back."

Xander closed the phone and put it back in his pocket. He breathed out. He felt the emotions tearing at him. Anger and hatred. For both of them. Love for one. Disappointment. At her and himself. He felt it get tighter and tighter. If he wasn't who he was it would end up consuming him. He thought about the mission. The things that drove him now. A large part of what he was doing now had started as revenge. Lashing out at a man that hadn't technically done him any direct harm. But, that wasn't how it would end. The Immortal had to die. Not because of a slight towards him. He was a bane on humanity. Preying upon the innocent to enrich himself.

While Level 6 concerned itself about larger world ending events, it could look over the smaller ones. The single individuals whose actions drew humanity and all of the inhabitants on Earth slowly into Hell. Not Armageddon. Just an Earth that nobody would want to live on.

He felt the emotions, twisting and turning. They slowly congealed.

He took a deep breath and held it.

This job, along with his confrontation with Jesse had left him adrift. Abby. Curtis. They'd been right. It hadn't helped him in his job. He'd lost focus. He couldn't afford that anymore. Not anymore; he had too much to lose. And the whole world was at stake. He couldn't afford to let petty hurts affect him so. At least this was more now. He was lucky for that.

He breathed out.

The feelings solidified, and then disappeared. The emotions that were distracting him were gone. He might allow himself to feel them later. To work through them when he had the privacy and time. But, not now. He had to go to work now. To be who he could be. Couldn't deny it any longer. The attempt to walk away from it had just proved how necessary it was.

One-Eyed Jack. The consummate professional. Cold blooded as a snake. Smarter than a coyote. Unflappable even in the face of a personal Hell. It was who he was. It was why he won. Why he was so dangerous. It was why he was considered the best.

He stepped to the edge of the sidewalk and hailed a cab. As it pulled up, he muttered to himself.

"Welcome back."

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Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews.  
Hit Count: 90,885 if anyone's interested.


	47. Chapter Forty Six

**Chapter 46: Dinner, Interrupted**

Author's Note: I'm not sure I'm exactly happy with this chapter. But, the general idea is there and I wanted to bang something out this weekend. Ah well, I might revise it later.

Thanks for the reviews.

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Xander watched as the two came down at approximately the appointed time. The sunlight had begun to fall somewhat. It wasn't very cold in the city. But, he detected a chill. It may have just been in his mind. Or the Voice making itself known to him. To remind him. Or it was just getting colder.

He had dressed well. Nice slacks. A decent shirt. A light blue. It went well with his outfit. Not the work clothes of either his past, or his present. Civilian wear. It felt wrong somehow. Like he was playing dress up. Or a disguise. He had many of those these days.

It had taken some time for them to get down to the street when he had called them. Due, no doubt, the sheer height of the building and the suite in which they stayed. Only the best for the happy young couple.

That could have worked to his advantage. A hit from the building across. Simple, and hard to determine to the one responsible, if certain precautions were taken.

High up on near the top floors, there was a killer view. And people tended to leave the window clear to look out. Usually the rich and the powerful, kings and queens of all they surveyed. Above all the lowly peons on the streets below. Of course, they tended to forget that there's always someone watching. From above, or below. It really didn't matter.

A sniper shot could have taken the Immortal if he had passed the window. Of course, again, given the nature of the suite, such things would have been anticipated. Bullet resistant glass for instance. High security suites for those that needed high security. The Immortal, may not have been aware of that fact, but he would certainly benefit from it. And so, even magically enhanced bullets, from a magically enhanced gun would not work. At least not necessarily. It could, but the statistics of it meant that even a sniper of Blazer's recently upgraded skill could not guarantee a hit with sufficient probability as to make it the preferable method of termination. Technically, the termination of justice. Though of life would be just as acceptable. It was a moot point however.

While Richard had planned a hit in the past, it had come to pass that in bringing in Xander, he now had to bring the errant Faerie to justice. Alive if possible. Preferably. Nearly an order. To prove to the young Human, that the Faerie would police its own in an official capacity. Not just send its guard dogs to tear a rogue to pieces. Legitimacy. In justice. And in government. Course, even Xander would have preferred to simply kill the Faerie. But, rules were rules. And politics were politics.

Buffy looked great. She had changed into something more appropriate for a night on the town. A new wardrobe, likely on Thomas' dime. The newest fashion from whatever country was fashionable these days. And the Immortal, he just looked like he normally did. Which was Faerie perfect. Given his figure and the immaculate conception of his image, it would normally look rather effeminate. If it was on someone else. For Thomas, it made him look like a god. Masculine, but not overpowering. Faerie glamour maybe. Though, some of it was his stance. His way of carrying himself. Ego, arrogance, mixed with attitude. And that, that was all his own. But, damn if he didn't own the look.

"Xander." Buffy said as she came up to him. She was smiling and drew him in to a hug. He was still kind of unnerved by it. Maybe she had moved on.

"Hi." Xander returned. He looked her up and down. He had to admit, as bad as what she had done had been, the time away had done wonders for her. "You look great. Both of you. I mean, if I swung that way, you'd have to stand in line Buff."

Buffy laughed. While Thomas just smiled. Xander didn't know if he was intrigued or not. That in itself was off-putting. Still, the attempt at humor had the right effect. To make him seem less serious, and therefore less of a threat, than he might have been.

He noticed the bodyguards flanking. They probably had not been pleased that Xander was making the reservations himself. Though, the Immortal would likely have brushed it off. Otherwise, he would have been notified to allow the handling of transportation and dining arrangements to them. Sloppy of them. Though guards were hirelings, and therefore vulnerable to the whims of their masters.

"You don't look to bad yourself." Buffy replied. She was surprised. Xander looked good. The additional definition on his face. The posture. He had certainly changed. Even the suit was unexpected. It wasn't top of the line, custom made, but it certainly wasn't something cheap and off the rack.

"Don't worry. I can still get down and dirty with the best of them." Xander shrugged. "Thomas. How are you doing?"

"Perfectly well. Thank you, Xander." Thomas stated. There was something to the man. He knew that. There was some strength there, but like all humans, it was something that would disappear quickly if pushed. The man had fought demons in the past. Vampires and the like. Weaklings compared to the monsters that existed in his home dimension. Though he hadn't faced them personally. Such behavior was best left to those bloodthirsty few that relished the gore of fighting.

A background check, insisted upon by his security detail, had given him some assurance that he faced no threat from the man. Blue collar. Construction work. The sidekick. Some limited demon fighting skills, but he had never had to face anything truly difficult. Nor as sophisticated as even his somewhat limited security force. And with no magic to speak of. Nor any other unique skills or abilities. The man was like so many on the Earth. Punching their way through on will alone. Brutish in nature. But easily pushed aside when met with the proverbial unstoppable force. Especially when said force cost over a hundred thousand dollars a year.

Still, it was his girlfriend's friend, though she had unloaded some things that the one-eyed man had said to her. So he couldn't deal with him, at least not permanantly. In ways it would have been easy. The man had obviously riled her up, and her whining had been rather annoying. Easy enough to simply kill him and be done with it. But no, he knew that she would be devastated by that. He could have dropped her if that proved too infuriating or took too long to bring under control. Still staying with a slayer, especially one that had so much energy in more intimate matters, had its bonuses. In business and in his personal life. So he had convinced her that Xander had likely been unable to deal with his emotions. After the losses he had faced, it was not unexpected. Xander had lashed out. At any convenient target. Again, not unexpected.

She had calmed considerably after that. Looked at her old friend in a new light. Somebody that needed support. Not to simply ignore or yell at because he was so wrong. And she was right. He hadn't been all wrong, but it wasn't about that. It was about him supporting her when she needed it. When Riley left. When he had come to after her when she faced the Master alone. He had been there when she needed him, even if she hadn't known it at the time. So while she hadn't had the time or the opportunity to talk to him again, after she had gained the newfound understanding and determination, she did now.

Thomas knew that such events would prove in his favor. Buffy would be able to clear up some issues she had. Allow to make some type of peace with her past. And that would allow her to devote more energy on him. As it should be. Definitely not an unprofitable venture.

"Well? Should we go now?" Xander said, wanting to get started. He motioned the group forward, away from the building and towards the street. Luckily, they didn't have long to wait for a cab to pull up at his hail. Xander stepped in after the others, making sure they were diverted to the backseat. He gave the driver directions and they were on their way.

It didn't take long to get to the restaurant. That had been anticipated. Xander knew he was being watched. That had been anticipated too.

So had the exact place. Picked for location, and placement. Ease of exit, and any number of strategic and tactical considerations. So very planned, and so very unknown to many of those involved.

"Patsy is in place." Xander heard through his earpiece as they pulled up. It was extremely small and only had enough power for a short time. A miracle of microelectronics it nearly had to be surgically implanted to be worn. It wasn't for tactical use, but for a covert operation like the one he was in, it was ideal. At least, if it didn't take very long.

Given Buffy's senses, and the bodyguards, he couldn't take the chances of the device being detected. Which mean the usual earwigs couldn't be used.

Xander didn't react to the message. He had used such things long enough not to be shocked by sudden messages and commands. That was a mistake for beginners.

He knew that the assassin that had been hired would play his part in the operation perfectly. At least he hoped so. It wouldn't do if Thomas actually was assassinated. The Faerie Court wouldn't like that too well. Sure, they had previously called out for his execution, but that had been rescinded. Xander knew that it probably had something to do with him, but if they changed their minds, then they wouldn't react too well if one of their citizens, albeit a criminal one, was murdered on Earth.

Least of all if it came out that it someone he, albeit indirectly, hired. That would look too much like vengeance. And while the Faerie had an understanding of such things, they held themselves higher than that when it came to their justice. At least, they tried to pretend that it did.

He quickly passed the driver money and got out, making sure that he was able to get out before Buffy and Thomas. The cab drove away as soon as the driver had been paid. He didn't attempt to look around, trusting in Richard to keep him appraised of what was happening.

The bodyguards kept a discrete distance. They had followed a distance away in another cab on the ride over. Again, forced by necessity rather than design. Then again, the very few number of people knowing about the Faerie, let alone someone that kept as under the radar as the Immortal, was less a target for most. They undoubtedly knew that scores would likely have issue with the Immortal, if only they knew that the Faerie was the one ultimately responsible for their torment. The guards didn't notice anything going on. While they weren't inexperienced, the dictates of their principal's comfort necessitated some risk. A risk that Xander was attempting to exploit.

He only paid lip service to the continued conversation. It had started in the car, but he hadn't really been paying attention. It was something about the Immortal's travels in Cambodia in the seventies. Thomas said something about how beautiful Angkor Wat was in the sunlight. Xander knew that the reason that he was there wasn't for the architecture. The Khmer Rouge had allies that most didn't know about.

"Patsy is aiming. Laser sight is activated...now." The voice came over his earpiece again. Xander started looking around, careful to not appear too obvious. He didn't have much time. He found it easily, and very quickly.

Xander saw the sign. A reflection of a window. A bit of red light. Laser sight. Sloppy. The Order of Teraka had the rep. But, they'd gotten fat in recent years and then thinned with the recent war. Thrill killers and thugs. Wannabes and gun bunnies. Psychos, not sociopaths.

Seemed like there was another whose reputation was not altogether truthful.

It drifted off the wall in front, down towards the Faerie. A sign of someone that obviously wasn't that experienced in hits using a sniper rifle. While likely a good shot, the assassin in some building far away, was not that good in a professional capacity. As was called for.

"Gun." Xander shouted, he grabbed the Immortal and yanked him down. Hard. He pushed the Immortal to the ground, into the gutter, as the shot rang out. Even with the suppressor, it was still audible from where they were after a second or so. The assassin was fairly far away given the distance between the shot and the sound. He was on top of the Immortal, The bodyguards moved in to cover them. Too late of course, Xander noted. Then again, that was part of the plan.

He wasn't much worried about the assassin. When he tried to check in to explain himself, he'd be executed. No loose ends. Not for them. That was part of the plan too.

He made sure that he landed near the gutter, and purposefully ran a hand on the rough curb side. The back of his hand stung, but he dragged it through, drawing blood. Xander quickly rubbed it onto his shirt. He had chosen one light in color to be sure that it would stand out when it was bloodied.

"What happened?" Someone asked.

Xander wasn't paying too much attention to that. He made sure he dragged his bloody hand over the Immortal's shirt too. Xander was dragged to his feet by one of the bodyguards. Xander wasn't sure which. The other picked up their boss.

"C'mon!" Xander shouted. "We need to get going, now."

Xander hurried the group down the street and away from the crowd that had gathered. It was rather odd though since he would have expected them to scatter. Most probably didn't recognize the sound of the shot for what it was. They only saw the two of them hit the curb, and maybe some blood. A spectacle, but not one that was dangerous for them.

The group went off on a side street, where he managed to find a cab within seconds. Not too hard when it was set up that way.

He saw the people he was expecting too. Everything going according to plan. Like clockwork.

"You." Xander pointed at one of the bodyguards. "Find out what happened."

The guard didn't move. Thomas nodded, sending the bodyguard on his way.

The rest of them piled in to the waiting cab.

"Where to?" The driver said as they got in. He didn't seem particularly shocked by the group. A one-eyed guy. A girl. Blood on shirts. A serious looking man in a bad suit. All in a day's work and all that.

"Waldorf." Xander said simply, taking charge again. "And step on it."

He wanted them to get away fast. Not so much because he was worried about the assassin coming after them, the contract was for one try only, but because he didn't want them to think about what had just happened. How it didn't make any sense. How he moved before the shot, though technically that was explainable. How his hand had gotten cut. How the cabs had just happened to be there.

Xander turned around. To check the back, but also to check on his group. The bodyguard was looking over over his boss to make sure he wasn't wounded. He was likely somewhat ashamed at his failing to detect the attempt too. The attempt uncovered by some civilian with only one eye. Buffy didn't seem to have any expression. Likely some shock. While a man, or rather woman, of action, the failed hit that had just taken was not something that she would have been used to. Not the sword and claw and fang. Instead, death from above. And slightly to the left. Anonymous. Impersonal. With nobody to strike against.

He watched as a man with prematurely graying hair and a beautiful blonde came up to the demonic bodyguard that had started back towards the scene of the "crime." Diamond and Spade. Doing their jobs. He noticed them because he recognized their faces. And he expected them. Nobody else would notice.

And he wouldn't see that demon again.

Xander turned back around. He could see the driver looking at him. Pale blue eyes. Almost grey. Club. Xander thought the code names were kind of dumb. Then again, he used Nighthawk as a teenager. More 712 than 616. He hoped at least.

It didn't take long to arrive at the hotel, given the speeds which the driver employed. They moved through the lobby hurriedly, lest they draw scrutiny from Xander and the Immortal's less than stellar appearances. The bodyguard took the rear. They quickly moved to the elevator to get to their rooms. Nobody said anything until they got out.

"What the hell was that?" Xander exclaimed. Acting up the part. Calm in battle, but panicked in the aftermath. Or at least, that was what it looked like. A dichotomy to be sure. Just enough to set things even more off balance. Harder to predict.

"Clearly an attempt on my life." The Immortal stated blandly. Though he was a bit shaken at so close an attempt, he hid it well. Though, given the lack of precision, it was obviously amateur in nature. With a distinct lack of knowledge of the target. Even if he had been hit, it would have been unlikely that it would have killed him. He wasn't called the Immortal for nothing. And he had had threats to his life in the past. Much more competent ones.

"Ya think?" Xander said, sarcastically. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We need to stay calm." Thomas said. While he knew that the young man had "saved" him, there was no need to be so emotional about such situations. It was hardly the first time such things had happened. Though it was closer than most. He didn't want to judge too harshly however. The young human obviously was unused to such things. A short time in demon hunting did not make someone some a warrior.

"Right. So what are we supposed to do?" Xander asked again. He widened his eye. To make himself look a bit wild and unhinged. As if gunfire and attempted assassinations were an unknown to him. As if he was simply another human out of his depths. Another sham. A disguise. A lie.

He found that it came easily. As easy as telling the truth. That meant too easily.

"Nothing. I'm sure my people will handle the matter. It's best if we let this drop." The Immortal stated with finality. There was no need to get worked up. His security detail would undoubtedly find the perpetrators and discover the reason behind the attempt. And his current bodyguard would make sure there wasn't another attempt. There was simply nothing to worry about. Extreme self-determination. Arrogance in the extreme. "Come along Buffy. I need to get cleaned up."

He walked towards his room, ending the conversation. Buffy followed after him.

The two reached their room. Buffy was about to go in, when…

"Xander." Buffy said. She couldn't meet his eye. Probably never would again, now. "Thanks."

Xander nodded. Though, not even an invitation to check him out, given his obviously injured hand. That was a bit harsh.

She was likely still in some shock, so he didn't want to judge her too badly.

Buffy went in and closed the door. Time to go to work.


	48. Chapter Forty Seven

**Chapter 47: Legerdemain**

Xander ran down the hallway as quickly as he could once he wasn't been watched anymore. At least, by those that weren't supposed to be watching. He ran around the corner and stopped at one of the suites. It was his own, though Buffy and the Immortal didn't know that. He unlocked the door and went to the bathroom, barely taking the time to close the door behind him.

The room being on the same floor meant that it was a suite. Of course, he would hardly have the opportunity to enjoy it. That was a pity. Vi probably would have liked to relax in the room. And he was sure they could get up to all sorts of trouble on the large king sized bed.

Instead, it had been set up with some gear. Some of it was strewn on the bed. Some on the table in the main room. He knew where everything was though. And what it was for.

Stuff he might need. A change of clothes, and the custom equipment he needed for the job. Emergency weapons as well. If he was forced to blast his way out. Though, that was hardly ideal. As ironically amusing as it would have been to start shooting up the place, it wasn't something he could seriously entertain. And he probably wouldn't be allowed back if he did that. That would have been a worse crime.

He quickly started to unbutton his shirt. Xander knew that he didn't have much time. He took off his clothes. A damp towel took off most of the dirt and grime from the street. He hoped the smell as well. He barely noticed it. The streets were a part of him, been a long time like that. He had scars all over his body now. The one on his arm, soon to be joined by the one that would form on his hand, was just one of the latest. He didn't even look at them anymore.

"The target has entered the bathroom. Watch is on the bedroom nightstand. Mike's picked up the shower going on." Xander heard over his radio. It was Richard. Serving in his function as watcher for the team. Making sure that everything was in its place. He didn't respond. Not enough time for that. Or at least, not enough of a buffer. Richard would tell him if anything happened that he needed to be aware of. "The girl is just walking around the main room. Pacing. Second bodyguard has finished security sweep and has left the room for his own. The first one is out permanently."

The cut on his hand had started to crust over. It was seeping now. Xander took out a small medical kit from the bag he had left in the bathroom and wrapped his hand. He got dressed again. New clothes. A small handgun loaded with iron rounds went to the small of his back. The hunter took the customized watch with him on the way out the door. He figured that the Immortal wouldn't be one to take a quick shower. Not after getting dirty.

He was counting on it, in fact. The suite hadn't been monitored long by Richard. But, long enough to get a sense of the man. Faeries could be creatures of habit, more often than not. Once they reached a certain age, they tended to get set in their ways. The technology may change, but the game stayed the same. And it was hardly the first time the old Faerie had been observing his fellow Faerie. The Immortal had not been quick when he showered earlier in the day, though that may have been partly due to Buffy joining him. Still, it was some indication that he would have enough time.

He was lucky the bodyguard hadn't just stayed in there. But, Richard's reports on the security detail had indicated a more hands off approach when it came to his body and that of his girlfriend. Lucky for him. Or good forward planning. It did speak of supreme arrogance on the part of the Immortal. His reputation was solid, but still, it was a fragile thing to rely upon for safety and security.

Another quick trip down the plush hall and he was at the room again. Buffy and the Immortal's. There was something squicky about that, he had to admit.

But, Xander didn't even hesitate. He knocked.

Buffy answered after a moment. She was somewhat surprised by who was at the door. She shouldn't have been. Xander had a carefully constructed forlorn expression on his face. Mixed with some confusion and fear. All carefully set upon his face. The emotions he really had were kept down, out of the way. Not felt.

"Can I come in?" Xander looked her in the eyes. Or at least attempted to, since she didn't meet his gaze. Must be hard. Having so many things coming all at once. Having to re-examine what one thought she knew. Of course, that was part of the idea. Get her looking at the wrong thing, while he swooped in and slipped out fast. That was real magic.

Buffy looked a bit torn. On the one hand, the man in front of her had chewed her out in front of many of the Council the last time they'd really gotten together. On the other had, he had just saved her boyfriend. Well, maybe. But then again, she wasn't sure exactly how immortal the Immortal was. And was certainly in no real hurry to test it.

Buffy took a step back. Giving Xander enough room to get in. A habit that some had adopted. Easy method to detect vampires. Course it didn't actually work on hotel rooms. But, not everyone knew that. Or thought about the particular vulnerabilities of that sort of thing.

Xander walked in, looking around the room. It was huge. A large central area with couch and coffee table. And a large entertainment center. Off to the side was the master bedroom. There was a guest bedroom to the left. Xander could hear the shower coming from the open bedroom door. The Immortal was still in there. Perfect.

He walked to the window, forcing Buffy to follow. He looked out. Somewhere, out there in the dark, were some of his people. And where they weren't, cameras were. Feeding information back to his handler which was then relayed to the main actor for this aspect of the show. A lot of effort for one man. Worth it for the lives that would be saved. The alliances that would be made. At least, that's what Xander hoped.

The ultimately amateur assassin would have already been dealt with. It would have been far easier to use one of his own to fake the shot, but that had its own problems. The Immortal had allies. Allies that would undoubtedly try to find out where he had gone. Or at least concerned parties wondering if they were next on the list. Real hires left real trails. Trails that would lead back to someone with a grudge. An open and shut case. Not a mystery or a conspiracy to find out who had disappeared one of the richest men in the world. And if those concerned parties happen to take out one of the new up and comers at Wolfram and Hart, well that was just icing.

Xander knew that the slayers were likely getting set up for the next phase. They weren't going to be going in hard if possible. In fact, he would prefer if they didn't have to do anything, but watch. Of course, that would ultimately depend on Buffy. "I think we need to talk."

"Really?" Buffy said, somewhat petulantly. She still had mixed feelings. The shock had worn off. As had the initial giddy feeling at seeing one of her oldest friends. And then some of the old memories of Xander had come back. Not all of them pleasant ones.

The view out was breathtaking. Little twinkling lights in the distance. Bright lights from the city. It was, alive. Breathtaking, if he had the mind, or the eye, to take it in.

"Yeah. It's been a year, less. I think it's time." Xander turned back around. Typically, after nearly getting hit, the average person would be wondering about that. Freaking out still. Of course, neither of them were particularly normal. "Besides, Dawnie's been nagging me to do it. Girl sometimes calls just to do that. You know how she can get. Tenacious."

Buffy smiled. Her sister had come back to Rome after her vacation to the states. She had told Buffy that maybe she should try to make up with her oldest male friend. She hadn't paid that much attention to her at the time. "Yeah, I guess so."

"But what's changed?" Buffy continued. Of course, Dawn could be most insistent, and the Immortal had got her thinking about things. That maybe it was time to let things go.

"We have." Xander said, calmly. He was still looking at her looking at something that wasn't him. "We both said things, things that can't be taken back. Some were true, some weren't."

"I don't know what conversation you were in, but nothing you said was true." Buffy retorted. She was willing to meet him some way, but not that far. And she could get mighty defensive when criticized. Evidently, they hadn't changed that much.

"If that's the way you see it." Xander sighed. He guessed the time apart hadn't really given her the ability to take a step back. Look at things from another perspective. It wasn't really her fault. She never should have been put in the position she had been in. Of course, that still didn't excuse what had happened. "You walked away. I'm not going to begrudge you that. At the end, we all needed a break. Of course, that's what it should have been. A break. But, like I said back then, you walked away. And the reasons, well, they were hardly the right ones."

"What? I saved the world. I deserved a vacation." Buffy stated, glaring at him. She crossed her arms over her chest. In the past, Xander would have been just as emotional. But, he had learned the need to control that. Emotions could give strength. Great strength. But, they could control you. Consume you. And that was never a good thing. He wondered why she had suddenly gotten more than a little emotional. If it was just him, or if she naturally just got defensive when pushed. Of course, people did that when they were out of their comfort zone. And an assassination attempt was certainly that.

"Yes. You did." Xander nodded. In agreement. "Of course, we all did. But, you just left. And didn't come back. And that, that changes everything."

"So, I think I deserved it." Buffy stated again, still glaring. For so long she had had to give up her hopes and dreams. The activation of all the slayers had been a godsend. She'd served her time in the war. It had been time long enough for her to be given the change to pick up the rest of her life.

"Since when was that your decision to make?" Xander tossed back, appearing angry. She could bring that out in him, back in the day. But, he knew better than to play the defensive. Or to let his feelings get the best of him.

"I was the leader." Buffy said, just as confrontationally. He could bring it out in her as well.

"Yeah. You _were_." Xander said, appearing calmer this time. "And you made the decision to cut and run. You made the decision to drag thousands of young girls into this thing, and then you left."

"I never asked for this." Buffy said, hugging herself this time. She looked a bit lost.

"Yeah. Well, neither did they." Xander looked at her. He felt like an ass. Part of this was the gambit. Part of this was truth. He was getting less clear on what part was which. It was getting harder and harder to tell when he was lying anymore.

"What did you want me to do?" Buffy asked. Some part of her actually wanting an answer. Some type of truth. "I didn't have that many options."

"No, we all didn't." Xander said. He had gone over the end of Sunnydale, The Stand, in his mind over and over. Poked holes into it. Found the mistakes. The flaws in the plan. It was terrible. They should have lost. It was only luck that they didn't. Deus Ex Machina. Damn near literally too. And they damned a lot of good people along the way. It shouldn't have gone done like that. It wasn't all his fault, but he did bear responsibility. It was his way.

"But, there were options." Xander continued. "You managed to find the Initiative pretty quick when you wanted them."

"What, so saving Spike wasn't important?" Buffy could be random when it came to anything related to the "loves" of her life.

"What I'm saying is that they could have been a big help." Xander said, ignoring the question. He didn't want to get drawn into that. He knew his own feelings about the second souled vampire. And things certainly weren't helped when he found out that the blonde vampire was apparently still alive, or rather undead. That he had been a part of the plan to save him, though unknowingly, actually irked at him a bit. Still, if Spike was fighting the good fight, then he would let him stay in one piece. For the moment at least. "Riley is in this thing. Still is as of last year right? And he's good enough to stay alive for this long without slayer help. They aren't all civilians out there. You had allies. Allies you could have called upon. Even if you didn't trust Angel anymore. And it's not like those were the only demon hunters out there. Plenty of indies out there. Why, I heard there was a guy out in the Northwest. Goes by the name of Pike. Real badass..."

"Why didn't you think of it then?" Buffy was on the attack. It was something she fell back on when she didn't want to face things that could get uncomfortable. He knew it better than most. It had been planned that way. Pushing her buttons. Giving her tunnel vision.

"I wasn't the leader." Xander said. Though he knew he should have. "But, I do kick myself for not coming up with it. _We_ screwed over a lot of people because we couldn't see any other way. We never were as good as we thought. Then again, that's just a sign to get better."

"They chose to be slayers." Buffy said. She had given them a choice. It wasn't like she didn't take a vote. Like she didn't give them the choice she didn't have. "I didn't force them."

"Like you asked them all." Xander replied, flippantly. And it was hardly a decision not made under some amount of duress. "It was a bad move. And, I should have done something. But, I didn't. So it's not like I came out of there clean. Neither did you. The difference between you and me though? I stayed. And that means more than how many times either of us have saved the world."

He knew much of that was his own sense of guilt. It wasn't that the girls were made into slayers. That wasn't as bad as it could be. Not for all of them. And it certainly wasn't what he felt the worst about. They both may have made those young and innocent girls into slayers. But, he was the one that made them killers. And that was a burden he carried alone.

"So what? You don't care about what I felt?" Buffy stated, coldly. "I came back from the dead. It was hell just being alive, and I still did my duty."

"Oh, you don't think I cared? You don't think I cared that you were in pain?" Xander said, calmly. He was strangely disappointed though. That she thought so little of him. "I cared. I cared about what happened. But, I care more about what would happen to the world. And now, what happens to the slayers. You were in pain. I get that. We dragged you out of heaven. Yeah, I'm sorry. But, you know what? We needed you. We needed you in the fight. And if I had known back then that you were in heaven, I would still have dragged your ass back out. Kicking and screaming if need be. Cause we needed you."

Buffy opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Xander looked around again. "You know what being a leader means? It means getting past your own pain, and going back in for more. You see the slayers you're responsible for, and you walk away. Because you don't want to face that. I see the slayers I'm responsible for, and I use them. I send them to die. And I feel that too. As it should."

This was taking too long. Xander knew he wouldn't have much longer and the argument was getting too involved. He walked around the large room, as if in thought. He didn't exactly look at Buffy, but he could tell she was thinking as well. Time to move. "But, we're going around in circles. I told you pretty much the exact same thing last time."

The room he walked through was well furnished and certainly would have cost quite a bit. The good life evidently was comfortable. And crime certainly did pay.

He went to the kitchen and pulled a soda from the fridge. Minibar tab. That'll hurt him, Xander thought.

"This is a nice room." Xander said, completely off topic. He notice that she was on the against the window again, looking out. A fair bit away from the bedroom and his current location. "How's the bedroom?"

Xander walked quickly into the master bedroom. He had pulled the watch from his pocket on the way, and made it to the nightstand before Buffy could catch up.

"This is nice." Xander said. He held up his watch. "Rolex Daytona right?"

"Yes." Buffy said. She knew expensive merchandise when she saw it. A childhood of luxury had given it to her. "This is just like you. Avoiding when you're confronted with your own failings. Who's running away now?"

Xander had his back to the Slayer. He put the watch down. And picked up its twin from the coffee table. Sleight of hand style. He slid it into his waistband and pulled his shirt over it. He turned around.

"Am I?" Xander cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, you are." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. She was clearly angry. And therefore missed things.

"I accept what I did. I accept that I screwed up." Xander looked at the Slayer. Forcing her to meet his eye. That, wasn't easy. "I chose this life, because it's the right thing. Not because I screwed over the lives of so many. It happened, and I can't take it back. And you know what? I'm probably going to have to do it again and again. Cause that's the nature of the game we play. I'm sorry, as I should be. And I know I'm going to be sorry for what I have to do in the future. But, it doesn't really mean anything. Sorry doesn't mean anything without action. Restitution. All the good I've done, doesn't mean anything to me. Only to those that were saved. It doesn't change the things I've done. It doesn't change who I am. We don't earn outs from this. There is no redemption. No shining gold star for when we've sacrificed enough. This life is a choice. You choose to go all in. Or you choose to walk away. You don't get what you deserve. You make a choice and that's all. And you aren't the one to decide what it makes you if you walk away."

Xander walked out of the bedroom, he could hear the Immortal finishing up. He went to the front door and turned.

"You can try running. You may even make it far away before it catches up to you." Xander said. His voice grew softer. He knew that part of why she was so defiant was because she had never truly faced herself after what she had done in Sunnydale. He had. He'd confronted it head on, and while he may not have accepted it, he could live with everything he had done. "But, you keep running, and it'll keep chasing you. You can try to delude yourself into thinking that this self-imposed exile is because you deserved a break. Fact is, you don't. None of us do. Not for what we've done. You could have walked anytime. After your first high school. You didn't have to come back. Just like I could have walked away when I got a real legitimate job. You left, because of the guilt. The guilt that you were responsible for forcing your sisters, your sisters, into the same situation you were in. One that you certainly spent enough time whining about. Bringing them down to your level. Skiving off your responsibility to them. That sort of thing must eat at a person. I only hope that you can face it when it finds you."

He turned back around, facing the hall. "I'll be at Flaherty's just down the street. Be there once your boyfriend is done cleaning himself. Someone you know could have gotten me killed tonight. And I had to save your boyfriend's ass. So I want some answers. Be there, or I start knocking on doors I'm pretty sure the Immortal wouldn't want be to calling upon."

Xander walked away after that.

He didn't know what Buffy's reaction was; he never looked back. He hoped she would at least be thinking about what he said. Even now, Xander thought, she deserved saving.

When he was out of sight, he slipped the watch into his pocket. Mission accomplished. With a bonus.

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Author's Note: Elaine: Xander won't take all the blame for it. However, if working with incomplete information it can appear that Xander is being a vengeful bastard. Although, with just a bit more info, and it's completely unemotional and just cold hard justice. So it really depends on context, and what any particular person, including Buffy, ends up learning about the situation.

Bolo: It's one of the problems with viewing other intelligent species as inferior. Sometimes, the dumb little monkeys can get lucky. And the Immortal will figure it out. Oh, and to touch upon something mentioned earlier, in the fourth comic of S8, Buffy specifically mentions killing any demons during their assault, if you read the comic, but only trying to wound humans. In other words, if a half-Brachen had been serving there, then he would be killed, but the human next to him, care would be taken not to. Even if they were guilty of the same thing. So, the whole "only a demon" thing is still there despite cases like Clem. Just something I noticed.

In general, I didn't want to make Buffy come off as a total bitch. However, in the end, she left, and stayed gone, so...  
Current hit count: 97,100

Thanks for the reviews.


	49. Chapter Forty Eight

**Chapter 48: You Cannot Lose If You Do Not Play**

Xander sat back in his seat. He had planned it pretty well. He'd arrived at the pub well before Buffy and the Immortal could arrive. His people were in their appointed positions and everything was in its place. It was like a play in a sense. With everyone an actor.

The pub was fairly packed. As was to be expected. Some civilians. Some not. Lambs amongst wolves. With the requisite wolves in sheep's clothing.

The bodyguard entered first. Casing the joint. But, given the preparation he had, nothing would be out of place. Just the one bodyguard. Xander wondered if they were thinking about the whereabouts of the second, or if they simply assumed that he was going about his business, trying to get to the bottom of the assassination attempt. Not that it mattered. They'd learn the truth soon enough. Not that it would change things.

He was picked up pretty quickly. While not the most sophisticated of establishments, he still didn't exactly fit in. Still, he could pretend that the eye-patch made him look dashing with a mix of dangerous. The kind of presence that made the girls pay attention. Taking his drinks shaken, not stirred. Until someone forced him back to reality. Of course, the bodyguard would never look like more than a thug in a bad suit. At least he looked human. Kind of.

Xander had ordered some food already. Typical pub fare. Calamari. Buffalo wings. Somewhat picked through. He had a half empty Guinness in front of him. The appearance of having imbibed. In truth, he had poured half of it in another glass and had sent it back. That had drew some questioning, but it was better than actually trying this intoxicated. He may not have been the brightest hunter there was, but he wasn't an idiot. Nor suicidal.

Buffy and the Immortal approached the table. There were only two open seats, per the one-eyed host's instructions. And the next open spot in the place close to them was still a few tables away. Between them were a few tables of young women and a table of four. Out on the town. Enjoying themselves by all appearances. The waiter motioned the guard to the other table, wanting to get him out of the aisle. The guard certainly didn't look happy about it, but acquiesced.

Xander smiled at the couple. The Immortal smiled a content and confident smile back at him. One not usually seen on someone that had almost been killed. Buffy, on the other hand, didn't return the favor. She didn't exactly glare at him, but she wasn't that friendly. It was a start. Of something at least.

He motioned them to take their seats. He watched as the Immortal sat, his arm on the table. It drew his shirt back, revealing the expensive watch on his wrist. Xander smiled inwardly, and waved the waiter over.

"Something for my friends." Xander stated, without really looking at the man. "What'll you have?"

"Nothing." Buffy said. The Immortal nodded.

"This is a pub. You don't drink, you don't get to stay here. And trust me, you want to stay here." Xander smiled again. He looked at the waiter. "Get me a Guinness and a pear cider. You can decide which one's for the lady."

The waiter withdrew with the order. Buffy frowned as he left, wanting answers instead of alcohol.

"Well. You're probably wondering why I asked you hear tonight?" Xander stated. Still smiling. Really though, they should have been in some fancy sitting room on a dark and stormy night.

"Yes." Buffy said, calmly. Not angrily at least. That was something too.

The Immortal didn't react, though he didn't look particularly suspicious.

"At first, I thought it was to catch up with my old friend. And meet her new boyfriend." Xander looked at the Immortal. There still wasn't a reaction. "Now, I really have to wonder. What exactly is going on. Me, I'm nobody. I don't have people taking potshots at me. No worth the time or the effort. Sure, I've done some stuff, but honestly, nobody cares. And why should they? But, then I look at my company, and I see a slayer. That's a target. And I see, a guy that calls himself the Immortal. There's never been anybody that had a name start with "the" that wasn't on someone's list. So who exactly are you? Mr. Immortal."

"I deal in antiques. Relics. Old texts. Nothing more." The Immortal replied. He looked nonchalant. As if nothing was wrong, and nobody had tried to shoot him in the head. "Antiques fascinate me. And they remind me of my past. And that's all that I am really concerned with. At least, when it comes to the general public. So you see, there really was no reason for someone to try to kill me. It must have been a mistake."

"And that's all?" Xander said, voice rising a touch in disbelief. "A mistake? Nobody gunning for you?"

The Immortal shrugged. With little care. "Of course. What did you think I am?"

"I don't know. Because, it seems to me that you attract an awful lot of attention for an antiques dealer. And most dealers I know, don't go around with muscle." Xander tossed a thumb forward at the bodyguard that was slowly sipping a soda. "And that, that gets me curious. Are you really just an antiques dealer? No sideline in smuggling things out in less than favorable countries? No Indiana Jones style adventuring?"

"Really, Xander." The Immortal drawled. He stopped as the waiter returned with their drinks. He picked up the beer and took a sip. "I must say you have a very active imagination. Though, to be honest, there are some that would consider me an enemy. I did not reach my current elevated position without causing a few grudges. But, they would hardly be the type to engage in violence to settle their respective scores. It's much more civilized than that. What is it that you do again?"

Xander looked him in the eyes. He could just about see the corruption in there. The darkness. It was a wonder that Buffy, who had fought against it for so long, could not see it too. At least Dawn was doing better. She saw Andrew more clearly now. How pathetic he really was, taking credits for others' triumphs. She wanted her sister and the man that cared about her to be friends again. Like they used to be. Of course, after tonight, that may not be possible. Still, one could always hope.

"This and that." Xander replied. Keeping it short. "Some work for the Council in Africa. I'm in collections too, you could say."

He was safe giving out that information. Buffy had rather idiotically spilled quite a bit about what the Council was up to. He knew that a number of the slayers had met the Immortal when they were in Rome. Taken out on the town on his dime. Andrew, apparently, had something of a relationship with him as well. That could explain the other Faerie. More of a reason to get rid of Thomas Fairchild. And do set up something a little more permanent for the loose lipped guy.

And then there was still Buffy. Apparently secrets weren't something that needed to be kept anymore once you retired. Promises. Oaths. Vows. Pinky swears. Didn't seem to mean much to Buffy anymore.

"Ooooh. Sounds mysterious. Like James Bond." The Immortal laughed. It drew the attention of some of the young women in the bar. Not all of them, but, quite a few. Buffy laughed with him as well. A bit too hard. He didn't know if it was because she was just trying too hard. It hurt.

"I prefer Jason Bourne myself." Xander replied dryly. He had to admit, the Immortal could be charming. Charming and funny. It damn near made Xander hate his guts for some reason. "So a long life then? If you're calling yourself the Immortal I figure you have to have a few hundred years on you."

"Try millennia." The Immortal replied, clearly amused at the human. He played along. Of course, he didn't know all the rules.

"Millennia. That's a long time." Xander nodded. He looked around, noticing as a pretty young dark haired lady tried to hit on the bodyguard. He struggled a bit. But, the short cut top and the tight pants won him over. Certainly not the brightest nor best of guards. He turned his attention back to the subject at hand. "A lot of life. A lot to experience."

"Oh it is. I have experienced many things. This, is something new. Buffy is something new." The Immortal smiled as he saw his girlfriend positively melt at that. He was smooth.

Xander supposed he should be a bit jealous of that. And angry. But, honestly, there was enough to hate without adding in his easy charm with women. He was beyond petty jealousies in any case.

"I bet." Xander put his hands into his pockets. In his left, he wrapped a hand around a small metal tube. A deadman's trigger, just activated. Set to go off if he let go, as such things did, as well as if it was tampered with magically. It was his leverage. In his right, he wrapped a hand around the silver pendant that Richard had given him. The badge that made what he was about to do official. It was a moment to be savored. If he was one to withdraw into emotions when he was at work. "Now, forgive me if I'm being insulting, but the title, The Immortal? Isn't that just the least bit unoriginal? I mean, I've seen Highlander. Immortals aren't exactly that creative anymore. You have a real name, don't you?"

The Immortal smiled a cryptic smile. Something the women must have just loved. "When you live as long as I have, you find names a passing fancy. Best to call myself what I am, than to simply label myself with some societal construct."

"I suppose. But, the reason I ask, is that might there be a chance that others use the name?" Xander asked, as if slightly confused. "I mean, might this attempt on your life be on some other guy calling himself, The Immortal? Like you said? Simply a mistake? It's possible right?"

The Immortal shook his head. "I'm unafraid I am quite unique. Nobody uses that title."

Xander withdrew his hands from his pockets, but still kept them closed. "Really? Because, when I was in the Congo, I heard of this guy. Called himself the Immortal. Apparently he was some kind of big shot. A real kingpin of crime. I think his name was, Thomas Fairchild."

The Immortal dropped his smile. Buffy just looked confused at where Xander was going with things with another person calling himself the Immortal.

Xander tossed the small piece of silvery metal onto the table. It stopped right in front of his quarry.

"Oooh. Pretty." Buffy said, she hadn't noticed the look on both of the men's faces. Xander's one of perfect calm, scarily so. He had it under control. The look on the Immortal's face was something to behold. It started with confusion, then recognition, then shock, and then an attempt at pity.

"Really. What do you think you're doing with that?" The Immortal played it cool. He knew that his bodyguard could deal with the young upstart. To play hero, it was really quite pathetic. To bring him in. Even if he had somehow obtained a badge. As if a meager human could possibly take him down.

"By the order of the Court, you are bound by the Law of the Hill to stand down." Xander declared, officiously. He threw in a smirk for good measure. "I'm bringing you in Tom. It's time to go home."

A beat.

The Immortal tried to suppress a facial tic. He failed. Obvious anger this time. At the sheer presumptuousness no doubt.

Buffy, still confused, just looked at her boyfriend.

"Do it." Xander never stopped looking at the Immortal. He could see in his peripheral vision as the dark haired slayer stabbed the bodyguard with a syringe. The bodyguard fell forward into his drink. Dead.

"What!" Buffy yelled. Finally figuring it out. She quickly got up. She didn't notice the three men and one woman stand up and gather around their table. They carefully pulled their weapons. Standing just out of range of a fist or a kick, but close enough to act quickly.

The Aces and their weapons. Standing ready to fire. At either the Immortal or his newest love. Xander hoped it wouldn't go down like that.

"Sit down." Xander said firmly. He put his left hand onto the table. Palm up, but still wrapped, so that the two could see the trigger mechanism. "I wouldn't try anything Buffy. This falls, and we'll see why lover boy shouldn't be called the Immortal."

Buffy sat down in shock. She looked at her boyfriend, clearly confused. And then at the group that had surrounded them. She finally noticed the weapons, though she knew that she could not take so many so close without getting killed. And that was not even counting what Xander thought he was doing.

"What do you honestly think you could do to me?" The Immortal said with arrogance. He still hadn't gotten it.

"That's a nice watch." Xander noted. He didn't allow himself to feel the triumph that threatened to break out. He couldn't start getting sloppy now. "You sure it's yours?"

Thomas looked at the watch. It looked like his. He stared at Xander. "What did you do?"

"I let this go and _my_ watch injects enough cold iron into your bloodstream to kill even you. Try to take it off and it does the same. Try to work some mojo and guess what happens?" Xander smiled. Most Faeries, especially ones of Thomas' obvious standing where powerful when it came to magic. Of course, power wasn't all there was to a fight. Not when he had prep time on his side.

"You set up that show? Didn't you?" Buffy accused.

"Very good. I was wondering when that would be figured out." Xander said, not looking at her. "Amazing how simple it was. I suppose it should show you that this is quite serious. I wouldn't move this many people around if it didn't mean something. If it didn't do some amount of good. Still, it was rather surprising that I didn't have to plan more."

"I will destroy you." Thomas Fairchild nearly shouted. His eyes started to glow white just a bit.

"Ah ah ah. You're epidermis is showing." Xander smirked. "I really wouldn't want to test me on this. And what the Lady is going to do if she finds that you've broken the Vow as well. And you want to throw down? In a pub no less. This isn't Ireland. This isn't the old country. And this isn't the 17th century. You don't have any cover any superstition for your actions in this place. And you don't scare me a bit."

"Who are you?" Thomas growled. Losing his cool. Took a lot to get that to happen.

Xander tossed him a lopsided smirk. "I'm the goddamn Batman."

"Why are you doing this?" Buffy asked at last. It was just like the guy to be jealous of her boyfriends. To make up some story to get him away from her. The recriminations and doubts of earlier fading away. Not forgotten, but ignored for the time being. Her man was in danger, of some sort. It was up to her to set it right.

Xander looked towards the woman he once had a crush one. Thankfully, it had only been temporary. "Well gee, maybe it's cause he's dating you."

Xander paused. If he was a lesser man he would have enjoyed the look of pain on Buffy's face. Savored it. Fact was, he said it because he knew it would make her stop. "No, maybe it has something to do with what your boytoy here does for a living. Why don't you tell her Tommy? Why don't you tell her exactly how you made your money?"

He knew he probably shouldn't be doing this. He was damn near monologuing at that point. But, if it kept Buffy from snapping and attempting to make a move, it would be worth it. He had to admit though. He definitely understood why the villains in movies did it.

"I buy and sell merchandise." The Immortal said simply. Calming down. Eyes dimming down to normal. Try to regain his composure. Not that it fooled his captor. "Commerce. You've heard of it, haven't you Mr. Harris?"

"Of course." Xander shrugged. "Drugs. Flesh. Souls. All fetch a pretty penny on the open market."

"Is…Is that what you do?" Buffy looked at her boyfriend in shock. Xander thought that it was likely some type of funny in an ironic sort of way. One would think that she'd have learned by now what shacking up with evil really meant. He learned something of that lesson from Anya. He wasn't making that mistake again.

"Well. Yeah." The Immortal turned to her. With a sort of sheepish expression on his face. He didn't quite pull it off though. "It's what I do. Don't act like you're surprised, mi amor. I've read up on you. Angelus. William the Bloody. You've always had a taste for the evil. Well, what you think of as evil. Don't act so surprised now. You knew. You always knew."

Buffy looked like she was about to cry. Hard truths could do that. She couldn't hide behind the delusions she fed herself to convince herself that she was important. That she came before everything else. "No. That can't be true."

The Immortal looked like he was going to respond.

"Yeah yeah. The Indian boy and the scorpion. I've heard it before. That's enough laying the blame on her. You lay it on think with your money and your old world charm. Cause Earth girls are easy. I've heard the story before. Doesn't make it right. Since you're still a dishonest prick and all." Xander said, defending his old friend. He spared a quick glance at her. "But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have known better."

He looked back at the Immortal. "Janet Kingsley sends her regards."

"Who?" Asked Buffy. She was starting to tear up.

"Ask your boyfriend. He should know. She was part of some holy triumvirate. Along with a couple of others, they could see in to the heart of things. Well, not anymore. That power for good is gone. Seer's eyes. They made him about $50,000, plus extraction. Hey, how much of that do you think is keeping you in the lap of luxury right now?" Xander replied. It was cold, and harsh. Down right cruel in its way. Enjoyable in a twisted sense to those looking for payback. But, it might just knock some sense into her.

"It's time to go." Xander stood up. Motioning for the Immortal to move. The Faerie got up as well. He picked up his badge and put it in his pocket. A few bills on the table settled the tab.

The capture of the Immortal. Without firing a shot. No magical battles. Nothing physical at all. Rather anticlimactic, but then again, what better way was there to win. Of course, there were still some loose ends. "Buffy. Don't follow me. It's better that you don't find out what's going to happen to him. I'm the law in this. This isn't emotions. This isn't vengeance or revenge. He's got a sheet on him a mile long. Drugs. Slavery. Genocide. War profiteering. He's a financier of the world's evil. All to maintain his standard of living. This is Lady Justice. And she's come a calling. Trust me on this, don't come after us. It'll only hurt more."

The Aces covered him on his way out. A few of the slayers did as well. Some stayed a bit behind, making sure that Buffy didn't try to follow.

The slayer watched as her boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend now, was led away. Led away by her oldest male friend, who she now had a better understanding of. Not that it helped. She knew that the Immortal was likely in the wrong. He had even admitted it. But, that didn't mean he couldn't change. That he didn't deserve a change at redemption like Spike and Angel had.

She followed after the two. Intent on giving the Immortal another chance, despite his past. She didn't notice the redhead that followed.

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Xander walked down the street, heading towards his vehicle. The Aces were still covering, making sure that nobody came looking for them.

"She's come after you." Xander heard the voice in his ear. His eye in the sky giving him the play.

Damn, Xander thought. That certainly wasn't what he wanted. He couldn't exactly blame her for it. She believed in people. Even when they weren't really people. It was actually a good quality. One of her best. If it didn't come up so damn much. And if it wasn't applied to the wrong sorts.

He gave some instructions to his people, and then turned to his left. He headed down an alley, secluded and perfect to those wanting to be undisturbed. It looked like it deadended, but there was an unlocked door, for those that were in the know. One of the rules of the game. Always leave an out.

They reached the end of it. Xander passed the trigger to Gregory Gould. The Heart, in this case, literally, of the Aces. Master magician, tactician, and leader. Randall Sammon, Diamond, and master martial artist, amongst other things, secured the prisoner with magical bindings. One couldn't be too careful.

The Reverend Brian Killian, aka Club, and Melissa Romanov, Spade, took up side positions, ready to provide supporting fire. They were the mercenary group's shooters. Some of the very best. Or at least good enough to pass for it.

They also cost a hell of a lot. And were utterly ruthless in accomplishing their objectives. Xander only hoped that they wouldn't be earning their pay tonight.

He watched as Buffy stood at the mouth of the alley. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest.

Xander sighed. "You really shouldn't have come here Buffy. I'm trying to protect you."

"Give him back." Buffy said angrily.

"Sorry. Can't do it." Xander shook his head. He could barely make out her eyes in the darkness. He could see the anger though. It would have been scary, if he wasn't with people scarier. And if he wasn't the person he was at the present time. "I'm bringing this criminal to justice. Where he will be found guilty and punished. Probably in a very excruciating way."

"And you're going to just let that happen?" Buffy snapped. "If he can love someone, then he deserves a chance to change."

"Or do you mean because he loves you?" Xander replied, looking at her. "Well, as much as a monster like him can love. Sorry. Doesn't work that way. He did the crime, now he's got to the, well, punishment. Since I don't think he's got that much time left."

"Is that it then?" The increasingly angry, and therefore, less than cogent, slayer retorted. She walked forward a bit. "You're jealous? Just like Angel? You talk about being the law, impartial, but you're just the same emotional little boy that you were back then."

"Angel again?" Xander smiled at that. It was funny how things always circled back on her first real taste of the darkness. He supposed it was somewhat poetic. And tragic. Old Bill Shakespeare would be proud. "Well now. Isn't that funny. I suppose you think this is like Acaltha then? Me having some info on your boyfriend and having to decide what to do?"

"What?" Buffy stopped, confused at the turn of the conversation.

"You know? When I told you Willow told me to tell you to kick his ass?" Xander replied. He chose his words carefully. Trying to keep her off balance.

Buffy narrowed her eyes. She thought back to the last year, when Willow looked surprised when she had brought it up. As if that wasn't what she had said. "She didn't say that did she? You lied to me."

"Six years or so and the truth finally comes out." Xander stated, calmly. "Took quite a while. In the beginning I did wonder if you would ever figure it out. Then, I simply stopped caring."

"You were jealous then?" Buffy said, coldly. Advancing slowly again. It was a long alleyway, but she'd reach them soon if Xander's hired help didn't notice. "And you're jealous now. Is that how it is then?"

"Are you kidding me?" Xander actually let himself let out a laugh. He smiled at her. "Of course I was jealous."

Buffy stopped short at that revelation.

"I mean, I was a high school kid." Xander continued. "And the jerk, the same one that would have let you walk to your death a year before, got you. Of course I was jealous. I'm only human after all."

Xander laughed again.

"But, if you think that that's why I told you to kick his ass?" Xander looked at her. He spoke in an unemotional tone of voice. The same voice that scared its share of the dark. "Then you never knew me at all."

"Then why do this now?" Buffy looked him in the eye this time.

"Because we don't live in your storybook world." Xander said softly this time. He looked her in the eyes as well. "You don't know how many times I've wished we did. The idea that people can change, and that that's enough to matter, it's a comfort. I would love to have that be true. But, it's not. The world needs unpleasant men like me to do the things that heroes, people like you, won't do. Even if Thomas could possibly change. You aren't the one to change him. And it's not worth the risk to innocent people to let you have that chance. Janet was 15 when she died. Because her eyes were those of a seer. And that made her valuable to him. Would you like to be the one to tell her eyeless corpse that her murderer gets a second chance because he loves you?"

Buffy looked away. She knew that there were always victims. She had seen some of Spike's. And those that were indirectly affected, though it hardly made a difference. Like Robin. But, to go after those that changed, or that could change, that was something else.

"Walk away." Xander said. "This is the end of the line. I'm not going to fight you for this. Walk away, and prove that there's a part of you that actually wants justice to be done. Prove that there's still a part of you that's some kind of hero."

"No." Buffy stated. Her path was set. If she was to take a step back into the world, like Xander had forced her to admit, then she had to take a stand where it was most personal. "You were right. I was running away. But, now I'm not. If I'm supposed to be a hero, then I should stand up for what's right. And letting you take him to be executed isn't it. Give him to me."

"Wow. You just had to pick the worst thing possible to pick up from what I told you, didn't you. So what then, you expect me to fight you?" Xander said slowly. Not really buying time, but just trying to find another way that didn't result in any kind of additional pain. Not that it would go to him though. But, that didn't stop him from not wanting it to happen. "Did you really think that this would become a fight between you and me? You'd kick my ass. I'm not going to fight you. Don't have that ego. I don't have to be the player anymore. And I know when I'm beat. Or would be beat."

"Then give him to me." Buffy repeated herself. Not backing down.

"Not going to happen." A voice came from behind her.

Buffy turned around. It was a young woman haloed by the street lights. The light reflected off of her short red hair. But, the slayer couldn't exactly make out who it was.

"You're not going to fight him." Vi said, stepping into the alley and more easily identifiable. "No way am I letting you lay a hand on him."

"Vi?" Buffy said in a confused tone. It took a moment for her to recognize the newly activated slayer. Though she had been one for over a year now. Still, they didn't exactly know each other well. "What are you doing here?"

"You think I'd let my boyfriend run around New York by himself?" Vi said, coming around to stand between Buffy and Xander.

Xander almost winced at that. Too many ears to hear that bit of information. He didn't want anybody coming after her to get to him. Or to come after him to get to her. Of course, it wasn't that bad since the only potentially lethal one would be the Immortal. And he would be taken care of soon. And Buffy, if Xander thought the worst of her.

Buffy nearly smiled. Somebody that might understand where she stood. And what she stood for. "Vi, c'mon. I'm the Slayer. You really think you can take me? You know I'm right."

Vi flexed a bit, loosening up. She dropped into a fighting stance. One that the other slayer didn't seem to recognize. It was something she'd learned from one of the masters that she had met thanks to Xander.

She thought about Rona. She had been one of the first to think that Buffy wasn't all that. She wasn't as close to the black slayer as she had been before she had gotten involved with Xander. Hadn't had the time. She knew that she should try to fix that. But, first things first. "You think I can't? This is nothing. You're nothing."

Buffy narrowed her eyes at the upstart that was challenging her. For Xander of all people. She dropped in to a fighting stance as well.

Xander wondered if he should try to stop the fight. He knew that despite the words, Vi wasn't arrogant. There was obvious confidence, well-deserved though. He knew she wouldn't get hurt. That wasn't what he was concerned about. It was for the other slayer. He really should try to stop it. But, in the end, he knew it would be pointless to even try. Might even make things worse. A group of slayers gathered, and there was an inevitable struggle for dominance. Some of it was only ritual in nature, given a clear leader, everyone had to make the show of strength. To establish a position before they could come together as a cohesive group. At least, if there wasn't some Alpha Slayer to establish authority early on. But, when it came down to it, when there was a real scramble for the top, then it got serious. And he knew better than to interfere.

Vi let the other slayer come to her. Buffy snapped a kick high to her head, as she had been trained. Unfortunately, she failed to recognize that Vi, being a slayer, had at least the same advantages as she did. Along with a longer reach. Vi moved to the left and let the kick slide pass. She moved in close and sent a hard elbow at Buffy's head. It connected and Buffy surely felt the force. Vi made around and snapped a quick combo into Buffy's back. Right against the kidneys. It wasn't hard, comparatively speaking, but given Buffy's unprotected state, it surely left its mark. And meant that the blonde slayer would be peeing blood for a while.

Vi moved back after that, ready for another attack from her opponent. "It's been a year. Did you think that I'd be the same scared little girl that I used to be?"

Buffy faced her and merely glared. She tried punching this time, but Vi managed to dodge again, and caught the arm on the way back. It let the younger slayer knee her in the stomach and then push her back, off balance. The older slayer nearly stumbled, but hit the wall instead, keeping her feet.

"Look at you." Vi continued. She moved her feet; not keeping a set routine that could be anticipated. Playing the young gunslinger looking to unseat the current, but aging champion. It was mostly charade though. She was concentrating. She knew better than to think she could easily win without paying attention. She was good, no doubt. But, when it came down to business, she had to be all business. Just like Xander. And One-Eyed Jack. It was the only way that would get them all home at the end of the night.

That wasn't to say she didn't mean some of it. "Still thinking you're the Slayer. It's been a year. More. You're out of practice. Old."

Buffy growled and stood up again. She moved in more carefully this time. She feinted to the left and snapped a quick right kick to the other slayer's midsection.

Vi didn't fall for it and instead moved to her right, snapping a quick low kick to Buffy's knee as Buffy's right leg came up. Unsupported, Buffy fell hard onto her folded left leg. Something stretched and sprained. A harder blow could have resulted in a break. Especially if Vi had gone for the kneecap.

"You're not the Slayer anymore." Vi said, moving out of range again. She taunted her opponent again. A stratagem that worked quite well against the other slayer; when it targeted her failings at being the only thing that had made her really important. Doubly so, given the emotional pounding that the blonde slayer had already taken that night. "You're not even a slayer anymore. And that just makes you a has been ex-cheerleader with delusions of adequacy."

Buffy nearly snarled as she tried to retake her feet. Unfortunately, she was slowed by her left leg. It gave Vi an opportunity to get in close. An opportunity that the younger slayer exploited to its fullest.

Vi moved in and hit hard. A kick to the leg again brought the older, and more experienced, in some areas, slayer to her knees. Buffy tried to lash out with a fist, but Vi deflected it and followed up with a hard hand to the throat. Buffy's head snapped forward, nearly gagging. Vi sent a snap kick to Buffy's vulnerable stomach. The low hit nearly made the Slayer throw up.

Vi watched as Buffy nearly curled up into a fetal position. She wasn't happy with what she had done. She wasn't sad about it either. It wasn't like she hated Buffy. All she knew was that someone had threatened the one that she loved. Everything else didn't matter.

She stood over her fallen opponent as Xander came up. He set a hand on her shoulder. "Go with the others. I'll take care of this."

Vi nodded and walked out of the alley with the Aces, and their bound quarry.

"That was some pay per view WWE level smackdown right there." Xander watched as they left. "You know. I don't like to fight. I don't like her to fight either. But, sometimes we can't really help it. World doesn't operate based on what we would like. Then again, sometimes we don't have to play the game. Which is why you're only injured, instead of dead. And that's only cause I still like you."

He knelt down and looked at the struggling slayer. His heart went out to her. It was Buffy after all. "No, really. Don't feel too bad. It's Vi. Hell, she'd scare me too if I got her angry. You got beat. Bad. It's not the end of the world."

Xander put an arm around Buffy's and pulled her to her feet. She just glared at him. At least she didn't try to attack him though. Which would have just been embarrassing. He wasn't sure to who though. He let go when she made it clear she could stand on her own.

She only wobbled a little.

Xander looked out of the alley. Nobody had heard the fight. "Buffy. I think that fighting demons and monsters weaker than you for so long has made you forget that you aren't invincible. And well, it's been a year and it's looking like you haven't been practicing."

"I've been busy." Buffy breathed out, with a bit of painful effort. She couldn't do much else at the moment.

"Probably." Xander replied. He looked her over. Some bruising. A split lip. And a busted ego. Not the worst that could have happened to her. She'd survive. "Buffy. It's a hard thing. But, it's better this way. You lie down with the dogs and you'd best be prepared for the fleas."

"This isn't the end for you. It doesn't have to be if you don't want it. But, you need to understand. Vi was right. You aren't the Slayer. You aren't a slayer. A slayer wouldn't let Thomas walk for the things he's done. Wouldn't try to change him, and risk others for it. The Slayer, Slayers now, are meant to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of Darkness. Because there's not enough good to try to redeem evil. They've made their choice." Xander felt a bit bad. He felt just in taking the Immortal in. But, hurting a friend, as he still considered Buffy, was a difficult thing. Rubbing her face in her mistakes didn't feel good. It wouldn't stop him, but it didn't mean he wouldn't feel bad about it. Eventually. "You need to make yours. Are you just going to go back to the vapid child that you were? Thinking that you can just wish the world was better? Or are you going to grow up. And try to make the world better. You need stop pretending that your will can change everything if you just gave everyone a second chance. It couldn't really change Spike and it wouldn't change Thomas. You still have family. You don't have stay where you are forever. You can come back. But, you have to choose to. Nobody can do that for you. It's not destiny anymore. It's just you."

Xander turned and walked out of the alley without giving her a chance to respond. He stopped at the mouth of the alley. "Oh, and if you go after her, me, or any of the other slayers you might recognize, with some kind of grudge, then we'll have a problem. Remember what just happened. Vi was the nice one. I am considerably not. You aren't as good as you think you are. And I'm better than you think I am. I may not like to fight, but that doesn't mean that I can't throw down with the best of 'em. Don't test me, and you won't have to die. For the third time. For good."

Xander kept walking. And he didn't look back.

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Author's Note: I hope I'm not hitting the same character point over again. But, I was trying to go with her deciding to actually make a stand, just the wrong one. So Buffy learned something, just not all of what Xander wanted her to.

And I hope the fight isn't too bad. I'm not completely happy with it, but I'm not going to wait to fix it. Maybe later. Watching the series again, and reading some of the discussions about her fighting style, I think I have to agree with those that say Buffy is a pretty terrible fighter in terms of skill. She resorts too much on her durability and beating someone down to get through a fight, as opposed to going for something more effective. For instance, comparing the River/bar or River/Reaver fights compared to the stuff that Buffy does, and I think there's a marked difference in level of skill. Even if it is "choreographed." In other words, if she came across someone that was well trained to fight effectively, I'd say that she has a pretty good chance of losing.

I watched some of Buffy's fight before I wrote the fight. And I was going with a more Bourne Identity/Supremacy style for Vi. Basically, Buffy tries to go for just hitting her opponent. Vi went for the knees, the throat, points that are especially vulnerable.

Thanks for the reviews.


	50. Chapter Forty Nine

**Chapter 49: It Never Rains, But It Pours.**

"This is all you found?" Xander accepted the mostly full bag from Gould. He opened it up and looked through it. There was some random pieces of paper and a small bound book. A laptop and a small PDA made up the rest of the stuff packed inside. It certainly cost enough.

"Pretty much." Heart, leader of the Aces, reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out a small billfold. "We also found about five grand in cash. Unmarked bills. Not anything that can be traced."

Xander took that as well.

Some would have been surprised that the mercenary would have given up the cash. They'd been instructed to toss the Immortal's hotel room for anything of value to the Immortal's less than legal actions. Information, paperwork, anything. The cash, strictly speaking, wasn't helpful in that regard. Still, it was something of value. A lesser man would have kept it himself. But, the Aces had made a contract. And they upheld the contract, as long as they were paid. It was why they had reputation they had. They may work for money, but that wasn't everything they did. Besides, if it got out that a hire was less than trustworthy in the work they did, they'd never get another job. And may find himself with a bounty on his own head.

"Good." Xander put the money into his pocket and passed the bag to Vi. She put it on the bed.

Technically, it was theft. The laptop and other such things were justifiable in terms of their intelligence value. The money, technically, wasn't. Still, it wasn't like he would spend it. At least, not on anything frivolous. He got paid enough at his real job to live comfortably. More than comfortably if he had been one for the finer things. Enough to stay honest at least. That said, it was all marked. He knew that. He made sure that his people knew that too. Every dollar accounted for by the government's best forensic accountants. To make sure none of their rather independent hires thought themselves too clever. That didn't actually stop him though. They were good people, but that just meant they actually had some type of honor. And that could go oh so very inconvenient.

So, when given the opportunity, Xander never passed a chance to augment his resources, off the books of course. Just in case the weather turned bad, and he found himself in need of acting on his cleverness.

"Okay. I'll wire the rest of your payment to the account you gave me." Xander stated, straightening up his coat. "Good job."

"My pleasure." The magician said. He started over to the door out of the bedroom they stood in, but turned back. "Tell me something. The Immortal. There something going on with the Sidhe we should know about?"

Xander shrugged. He wondered how much he should give up. On the one hand, the Aces did know more of the truth than most. Good enough to not get taken out when they went after any Faeries that made nuisances of themselves. On the other hand, they were still independents. And not ones that followed his lead. They had morals, but still, they couldn't necessarily be trusted when not on the hire. "I think it should be pretty clear by now that the Lady is planning on making more overt connections with Earth. And they're making allies with those in know. This'll look good for you with the Court. Beyond that, I don't really know."

Heart nodded. It seemed like it was an audition in addition to being a work for hire. And they'd pulled it off without a hitch, so far at least. Easy work and more than just their fee. Xander was definitely a good boss to work for. "Okay. We'll stick around until he's ported back to the realm. Then we're gone."

"Alright. Just remember, loose lips and all that." Xander said.

He watched Gould exit. He started to follow, but Vi took hold of his arm. He stopped and looked at her. "What's up?"

"I think we need to talk about what happened?" Vi said, sitting down on the bed. She pushed the bag off to the side.

"Okay. What's your concern?" Xander replied. He took a seat as well. Next to her.

"With the Council planning on coming after you, alienating Buffy isn't a smart move." Vi stated. Slightly critical, though mostly concerned.

"True. But, her influence with the slayers has been declining with her absence." Xander contradicted. He'd thought things through. As well as he could of course. "And her help to Giles in finding Riley isn't going to be much. She's been out of the loop. And is nowhere near as important to him as she thinks. Man's got a family now to boot."

"What do you mean?" Vi rubbed her hand.

Xander took a hold of it and looked at her hand. No bruising or scraping from the fight. It had been a clean hit at least. "She has no idea where Riley is. And the government's information on her whereabouts isn't exactly available to him. Not that he's keeping tabs anymore. He's got more important things to do. It'll take some effort for them to track him down. And I hope to have things settled up by then."

Vi gripped Xander's hand. It was warm. And felt good. "If she comes back, some may still side with her. And this isn't exactly going to make her warm up to you again. Or me for that matter."

"True. But, Faith's the Slayer now." Xander shrugged and returned the squeeze. "That should be enough to counter whatever influence Buffy can bring. And there'll be enough that see her as an outsider to make them think about anything she says. Kennedy could be a problem. But, when push comes to shove, they'll back Faith."

Vi nodded in agreement. "Wow. That actually sounded intelligent."

Xander grinned. "Sometimes I have my moments of rational thought. Rare though they may be."

"So, you going to tell Faith everything?" Vi thought about what Xander had said. It made sense. She was there after all. The slayers were a close knit group. The pack was all. Anybody coming in from the cold would be looked upon with suspicion. Any strangers were at once suspect. And at this point, to the Cleveland bound, Buffy would be a stranger. The few slayers that had visited her had been just that. Visitors. Not family. Not anymore.

Still, there were still cracks in that bond. Of the group of slayers that had went to New York, only one of them was still kept in the dark. Not as much as before, but the others had as much of the truth as anyone there did. It wasn't a liability yet. But, could prove to be in the future. Not to mention the other slayers.

"Probably going to have to. One of these days." Xander responded. "What do you think?"

"I think, if you really want her to be any kind of leader, she'll have to be told everything. The complete everything." Vi told him. She was an independent herself. Despite still slaying with the Council. Monet, Colleen, and a few others were as well. They were starting to get watched now though. Vi especially, given her connection with the man who was increasingly being seeing as a bad influence. And one that may be walking on the other side of the line. Which meant that Faith, of all people, was increasingly important. Not so much as someone to the control the other slayers. But, one of their own who wouldn't simply roll over for the watchers. "Besides. There's already some grumbling on where exactly the old Council trained slayers come from. Where there families are. Faith's been doing a good bit of it herself."

"Robin's a concern though. He isn't completely against me. And she's going to tell him, even if I tell her not to. That could be a good thing. Way I see it, he's mellowed some from being some rebel demon hunter. He's authority, but he respects authority. He's not some cowboy. Not anymore." Xander thought about how much he could anticipate their actions. There was never a certainty, but it wasn't that hard to figure out. People tended to act in predictable ways when confronted with shocking information. He was nothing, if not a student of the human animal. "But, he's a watcher. And I don't know which way he's going to play it yet. Not enough information on it yet. You have any ideas?"

"He's in love with Faith." Vi stated simply.

Xander paused and looked at her. Wiretaps and bugs couldn't pick up every kind of communication. Between humans, there was just as much not said as is. "That changes things."

"Don't it." Vi nodded. Laconic again.

Xander just continued looking at her. He knew that he could be incredibly manipulative. And most times it didn't bother him since he didn't particularly care for the people that were the objects of his machinations. But, he had developed some kind of liking to the slayer that had taken his virginity. And he would certainly not want to be the one to screw up what may be the best and most normal relationship the dark slayer had ever had, or likely would ever have. Of course, given the right impetus, that kind of morality would probably fly right out the window. He just hoped it would never be tested. "She love him?"

Vi though about it, but shrugged. "Can't really say. She's not exactly one to talk about her feelings. But, she's different. I mean, I haven't known her that long, but she wasn't like she was back in Sunnydale. She's got an edge, but it's more stable. I guess."

"Yeah. There is something there." Xander thought about what it meant. On the one hand, it meant that turning one would make the other pretty much a freebie. On the other, it meant that pushing things too far could screw things up permanently for the slayer. And likely bring down more trouble on his own head. He wondered which he was more concerned about. How he could best use the Council to get the slayers on his side, or how much he wanted things to go right for the Slayer.

"Okay." He said after a moment. "Okay. I'll have to talk to her about it. Soon."

"You should." Vi agreed. "But, you better be as comforting as I know you can be."

"Yeah. I figured that." Xander nodded. And smiled, somewhat ironically. "Have to find a way to break things smoothly though. I have a feeling she's not going to take it very well."

Vi smiled back and leaned in to kiss him. They held it for as long as they could, but they still had work to be done. It wasn't near long enough.

"Alright. Time to go out there." Xander stood up and walked to the door. He tossed back a lopsided grin. "Oh, and for what's it worth, you totally kicked ass. Love you."

Vi blushed and just looked back at him. She stood up and started to gather the things in the bedroom for their exit.

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Xander took in the main room once he reached it. The Aces were still covering the Immortal. He had been secured more fully. Heart had brought some tech to take care of that. Forged manacles which would help control the Immortal's magic. The Ace wasn't a master magician for nothing. Which would have been rather surprising to many in the trade. Gould was a magician. As in stage. Learned the trade at the feet of his father, a member of an earlier incarnation of the Aces as well. He could pull off things with smoke and mirrors that would stump even the most powerful of wizards and witches.

No magical ability, but he was one hell of a mechanic. Could come up with any magical gizmo or machine given enough time. Just as long as no inherent magical power was needed. He'd made the magical bindings that were currently confining the Immortal's wrists. They'd gone after Faeries before, and had learned what was effective against them. Still, the special watch had been left on, just in case.

Xander walked over to Richard as the other Faerie was finishing up his drawing. The furniture in the room had been pushed off to the sides. Chalk had been used to make a circle with a complex set of runes focusing the energy that Richard was putting into it. Conjuring a tunnel to Sidhe wasn't easy. But, those that wanted to walk through dimensions had to learn it. Or be forced to rely on the services of others.

Richard stood up and nodded his head at the human. "We all set?"

"Just about." Xander replied. He noticed that the other slayers were just lounging about in the room. Faith was standing though, looking serious. She was probably taking it all in, trying to figure it out. Whether that was to inform on them to the Council, or to figure out her own path remained to be seen.

The one-eyed man walked over the Faerie that had given him so much trouble. Thomas still looked impeccable. Even when he was chained to the wall. He had calmed down and looked as if he was just one of the gang. No worries at all.

"So, Tommy." Xander smirked in his face. Looking for all the world like a man extraordinarily pleased with himself. He didn't really feel it inside. Though there was a part of him that felt better that the scum was off the streets. "Got anything to say? Before, we you know, send you back home to be chopped into little bits?"

"You think this is the end?" The Immortal replied flippantly. He smiled a superior smile at his human captor. "You pitiful little monkeys. Do you really think you can play with your betters? The Lady will never side with you humans. And I'll be free. And I'll come after you, and your pretty little girlfriend. I could show her what a real man can do. And after I'm finished with her..."

Xander didn't react. He knew it was just to rile him up. To get him to make a mistake, or simply to get a parting shot in. Even suicide by Xander. To not have to go through with what the Court would have in store for him. Still, the human couldn't make no show of things. That wouldn't be proper.

He took a step back, to make sure he was at the proper distance, and pulled the small handgun from the small of his back.

"I would like nothing more than to shoot you in the face." Xander said over his gun. Death's head smile. As familiar to his enemies as the eye patch. Almost at least. Much of the time, the last thing they ever aw. "I can't deny that I would get such pleasure from seeing you dead at my own hands."

"Then why don't you?" The Immortal smirked with an air of dominance. "Little ants. Cannot even comprehend the forces at work around you."

"Because I've outgrown that." Xander smiled back. "And learned that delayed gratification is so much sweeter. Faerie justice. You know it as well as I. So much more painful than what I would be capable of doing to you. And just as permanent. You'll get yours. I have no doubt about that."

"And you're right." Xander said putting his gun away. "We are ants. Smush one and nobody notices. And another. Course you keep doing that and soon you get the whole hill on your ass. And that's something to be reckoned with. Not that you have to worry about it. You aren't going to be worrying about anything much longer."

"Acting as if you're so superior." The Immortal shook his head. The chains connecting him to the wall clanked. "You betray your friend to get to me, and you think you're better than me?"

"Never said I was better." Xander replied. "Though, I am. Obviously. And you can't honestly be trying to use Buffy against me. I mean, this way, she's got a chance to be more than your play thing. Until you get tired and kill her. So yeah, I betrayed her. Which is still better than whatever you would have had planned for her. So don't try to bring me down to your level. I may be a prick, but that's still more than what you are."

He pulled out a syringe from a coat pocket. "And, just in case you get any ideas."

Xander stepped forward and plunged the needle into the side of the Immortal's neck. He almost felt a twinge of pleasure low in his stomach at the small grimace of pain that Thomas couldn't suppress. He was only human after all. It was controlled though, just enough to tell him that he actually still had emotions. As controlled as they were. "Just a little cocktail for your trip home. Some radioactive particles and power inhibiters. Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll be wide awake for what's about to happen."

The human took a step back and motioned the Aces over to the prisoner. Club and Spade took cover positions with their handguns while Diamond took the Immortal from the wall. He marched over the Faerie to Richard who was standing in the magic circle.

Richard took custody of him and started to prep the circle for transport.

Xander walked over and looked at his friend. "That's about it I guess. Aside, from the watch."

"Yes." Richard replied. "I'll return it to you as soon as I can."

Xander took the silver badge from his pants' pocket and held it up. "You going to be wanting this back?"

Richard looked at him. There wasn't a real risk to showing it amongst the other humans. They knew about the Faerie. But, not everything. Not what the badge meant. And Thomas wouldn't be the one to tell them about it. "No. I think you'll be needing it soon enough."

Xander nodded and put it back into his pocket. "It was good seeing you again."

"Likewise." Richard nodded back. He spoke the final words of the incantation that would bring them back home. Only one was looking forward to that trip.

The runes from the circle started to glow, energizing and forming the mystical channel that would send them to their destination. Sidhe. Home of such wonders and beauty. Terrible and great in their brilliance. In nearly equal parts. He'd missed it. He'd missed his family.

"I want proof of his death. I want you to be there. And, I'm going to want body parts." Xander stated before the circle had finished its prep work. He knew that death hadn't much meaning in their world. And no body meant no guarantee of execution. He may have trusted Richard, but that didn't mean he trusted all of the Faerie. He had Vi to think of after all.

Richard nodded. It was an anticipated request. They'd both been in the game long enough to know that.

With a flash, both Faeries disappeared.

Xander looked back at the people still in the room. Only humans now. "Okay. That concludes tonight's entertainment. You four can go, the girls and I can clean up."

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It didn't take long to go over the rest of the apartment. They'd packed everything they needed and shredded what they didn't plan on taking with them. It was loaded into vehicles at the bottom floor. The apartment had been washed and sanitized; the trash sent down to the compactor. It was like nobody had been there at all.

Xander looked at the slayers sitting on the steps up to the apartment door. They watched him pack the last of the equipment. He walked over to them after he finished. "I'm proud of you all. I mean, sure you didn't really have to do anything, Vi and Monet withstanding, but still. You kept an eye out on the situation and were prepared to move if necessary. That's kind of what it comes down. A well planned and well executed operation. The less risk the better."

The slayers smiled at the praise. Including Faith. She looked up at him. "So what now?"

Xander smiled back. He could nearly see the thoughts in her head. She still had questions. And doubts. She'd be a fool not to be. But, her short time with the others had done her good. To get to know her sisters, without the overhanging pressure of the Council. And to get the chance to see that the fight wasn't all on them. That there were others there, doing their part against evil. And it wasn't even some underground affair. The law. The law coming down on the supernatural evils of the world. Even if it was from another jurisdiction. A rather out of the way jurisdiction. "Well, job's done, so I figure waffles."

They groaned at that. Nearly in unison.

"No really. There's this place near here. It's worth it. I'll lead you there." Xander assured them. He watched as they got up and walked towards their cars. Shaking their heads. Also, nearly in unison.

He chuckled to himself and started for the driver's seat of his van. He almost reached it when his cell phone rang. The business line. He answered it, as Abby came up to him. She noticed the serious look on his face.

"There's a situation in New York." Lampkin told Xander over the phone. GPS tracking on the phone gave the Level 6 commander his field man's position. He didn't really wonder why Xander was in the city. Technically speaking, as a government agent, Xander was at the beck and call of his bosses. However, he was also his own man, as per his contract. He could run his own ops on the side, as long as they didn't interfere. He was still valuable enough to allow that leeway. Or the higherups were just too scared to think about what would happen if they didn't give Xander what he wanted. Xander wouldn't tell him if it didn't concern them, so he didn't bother asking. It'd come out if it needed to. Xander may be tightlipped at times, but never when it mattered. "You have time to check it out?"

"I'm thinking this isn't going to be some alligator in the sewer call." Xander said. He had looked forward to some downtime. During the run on the Immortal, he had kept track on the latest with the current end of the world scenario they were officially working. The intel from Jesse was still being verified. "What's up?"

"No. Not really." Lampkin replied. "We got some calls from the PD. Some type of fish monster running around the harbor, causing a fair amount of damage there. Creature of the Black Lagoon type from the vague descriptions we have."

"Uh really?" Xander said. The idea rang some bells. "We're not talking about some rent a cop's over active imagination and an all-nighter of B movies?"

"There's been some attempts to cover things, but some detective's been making waves. Pardon the expression." Lampkin replied. "We managed to dig something up. There's actual evidence, though they don't know what they have. This looks like it's real. We're having the lab guys look over their results. But, I want you there in the meantime."

"Any casualties?" Xander asked, concerned now.

"Negative. Only property damage so far. Some of the ships and cranes. But, that could change real fast." The field commander said, summarizing the report he had been given. "I want you there before bodies start popping up."

"What about my team?" Xander thought about his current forces. It was a pretty heavy group to be bringing against something that hadn't actually harmed anyone yet. Still, he'd learned to take the precautions. It was why he was still alive.

"They're needed elsewhere right now." Lampkin knew something of who was with Xander. It would be enough. They could prep some guys and send them out, but they weren't exactly outfitted for that. Not yet at least. Growing pains could be a real hassle. Their quick response people were needed in case their main operation got hot. "You'll have to make due with what you have right now. Is it enough?"

"Shouldn't be a problem. Send me the address and the files on the attacks." Xander said, closing his phone. From Faeries to fish men. The game never ended.

He looked at his team's slayer. She had as serious a look on her face as he did on his. She'd heard his side of the conversation. But, even without that, she would have seen the gravity of what he had learned from the way he stood.

"Same shit. Different day." Xander told her. She nodded. "Let's go."

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Author's Note: Ah, only 1 review for the last chapter. Still it's up to 101734 hits so far. So that's something at least. Thanks for reading.


	51. Chapter Fifty

**Chapter 50: First Responders**

Rico Castillo knelt down, his arms resting on his thighs. He looked around, but couldn't see much through the dense jungle. He clenched his jaws, his hands subconsciously tightening their grip on his FN FAL automatic rifle. They'd been trekking through the jungle for hours. It hadn't been an easy trip. Especially given the stakes.

The soldier didn't hear anything, except for his men currently helping comb the jungle. They had found the trail easily enough. As well as the extraction point, not that he could really tell. He didn't have the sight. His mage had identified it. Not that he could pull much from it either.

The path to it however, was another matter. The ground had been trampled. He looked at the claw marks. Large. And deep. Whatever had come through hadn't cared much about being covert. And there had been a lot of them, with great mass. He could tell that much, though even a child could have done it. But, they needed more. They needed the source. Hence, the long walk.

He raised his left hand and wiped his sweaty brow with the back of it. The heat combined with the grease paint were a heady combination. He was used to it by now though. The man in his mid forties had had a great deal of experience in fighting in the jungle. It was one of the hardest places to try to fight demons. Too many places to hide. That he had lasted this long was a mark of pride.

But, this, this was different. He was used to the heat. Used to the smell. And used to the sound. Except, this time. There wasn't any. No bugs. No birds. No scurrying of animals. It was unearthly. Like whatever had passed through had absorbed all normalcy from the place. Or taken it by force.

Rico stood up. His fatigues made a faint rustle, one of the only sounds in this part of the Amazon. He walked forward, his men continuing their sweep pattern around him.

The men of Peru's 6th Jungle Brigade, the ones not generally known to the public, performed their duty. Intelligence from their American allies up north had given them warning about some type of army massing in their country. Somewhere in the jungle. That couldn't be tolerated. For internal and external security reasons. So they went, and searched. And found all part of what they were looking for.

Sergeant Major Rico Castillo's second in command came up to him. Rico turned to him, waiting for the update..

"Johnny's found the source." Master Sergeant Miguel Perez told his commander in Spanish. "It's just up ahead."

Rico nodded and followed Miguel's lead. It only took a couple of minutes, despite the thick jungle. They reached a small clearing. Some type of energy had burned it into the jungle. He looked around; noting that his men had taken up cover positions. To make sure they didn't get ambushed if any of what they thought could be there was lying in wait. They were professionals. They knew what to do.

Johnny Marsden walked up to him. His long black hair swayed back and forth in his pony tail. It was glistening with sweat.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. We're looking at some major magic here. Portal. Class four nexus maybe. Or maybe class three." The wizard spoke quickly. He spoke in English. The others could understand it, even given his speed. He didn't know much Spanish after all. Not even Spanish for business. "Anyway, a lot of something came through. I can still feel the residuals. I'm surprised you can't feel it. Sort of makes my teeth itch."

Rico just waited patiently while his magic user finished babbling. He was used to it, but it didn't get any less annoying. He liked the wizard well enough. All the guys did. Didn't mean they liked to hear him talk though. "That's enough. Do we know what came out?"

"Nope. That's a negative." Johnny shook his head, ponytail whipping back and forth. "Nothing I can detect of what came through."

"Then we have nothing." Rico sighed. If it was as bad as Assistant Director Lampkin had told his superiors, then they could be in real trouble. With no threat profile, they were going to have to fight this thing blind. Never a good thing. Couldn't prepare. Only react.

"Maybe not." The mage looked back at the small clearing he had been examining. He stretched out his hands, as if warming his hands over a fire. He closed his eyes. "I got some traces of demonic, and Kaverain energy. We are talking about, a portal, to, no no, from, a church, no temple."

"What temple?" Rico snapped, impatiently. The near trance, coupled with the jungle's dead silence were quickly wearing through his patience. He didn't want to be there any longer than he had to. The silence and stillness was giving the battle-hardened soldier the creeps. That was never a good thing.

"To. To. To. To the Old Ones." Johnny opened his eyes. They went wide. In shock. Mixed with fear. "Something came out. An army. An army in stasis. But, it isn't for one of them. They're all locked up. Something else. Something else."

Miguel narrowed his eyes. "If not them, then what? What could be bringing this out into the open now? The Americans…"

"The Americans said it was Sekhmet. Yes. That makes sense." The mage nodded to himself. "Yes. Yes. It's clear now. An army. An army for a goddess. That would provide enough power to open a portal to this place."

"How many? And what kind?" Rico queried, bluntly. "What are we facing?"

Johnny snapped out of it and looked at his commander. "I… I don't know."

"Do you know what they were doing?" Miguel put in. He had his own bank of experience to draw from. To come up with the appropriate reaction. And what he was hearing wouldn't be making a mild one.

"It looks like they left some type of phase shifted temple, and then marched to that natural ley line convergence we found a couple of clicks south of here." Johnny explained. "Then they ported out. I don't know where. They could be halfway to the United States by now."

"The only up shot of that is that if they were an invasion force, then they would have made their move by now." Rico put in his opinion. "Still, it means we have a bunch of unlicensed probable hostiles somewhere in the world. From the trail, a whole lot of them. And all unaccounted for."

"That doesn't sound good." The master sergeant stated. He looked over to his commander. "What do we do now?"

"We need to get back to base." Johnny spoke up again. "I need to research this. There can't be that many types of soldier demons that the local Old Ones would have used back in the day. I may be able to pull something up from the archives. But, we need to find out whatever this is fast."

"Okay." Rico nodded. He looked over to his second in command. "Get on the radio. I want a few teams here to lock down this place. If this is the exit point for whatever is holding this army, then others may come out. We need to get someone in to check it out and see what we may be up against. Have Esteban establish a perimeter until then. Roving guards to watch the jungle. Place what mines we have around the center. I don't want anything that might be in that temple coming at our guys unbloodied.

Miguel nodded and got on his radio, calling up their base. Then the other men in order to give them their orders.

Rico watched as reinforcements were called up. He knew it didn't exactly matter at the moment. Something had already come through. For some unknown, but likely evil, purpose. The warning from their allies hadn't been fast enough.

God help them all.

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"Okay." Xander wiggled his comset, making sure that it was set properly so that everyone in the other vehicle could hear him. "This is what we got. Approximately a week ago there was some machinery damaged at New York Harbor. Red Hook Terminal. Cops put it down as vandalism. A few days later and some workers riled up what they think it is the culprit. It happened at night so all we got is "dark, tall, and strong." Luckily nobody's hurt. Yet. The sightings are getting increasingly frequent. Our job is to figure out what's going down and stop it. The police reports have a description of something big and scaly. Gill man type. But, they aren't exactly putting a lot of stock in that description."

"Really?" Faith called over from the other car. There was some static, as she used the car phone. "Sounds like a movie. We sure they aren't just seeing things?"

"These types of creatures aren't exactly unknown. They aren't not real." Xander stated. He glanced out the window. They were nearly there. It was dark out; still a number of hours till dawn. They'd either find it tonight, or have to worry about a possible body count if things were allowed to escalate. Hell of a thing given his current lack of sleep. "There was some biological matter found at one of the crime scenes. Tests say human DNA mixed with fish stuff. Tarpon. Mako. Shark. The police lab says that it's contamination. Probably from some fishing trawler. My lab says it's genetic engineering. Which is nearly all the confirmation I need."

"How can you be so sure?" Faith put forth. She knew why she was there. At least for the operation against the Immortal. The official slayer also knew that Xander was slowly bringing her in deeper. She'd have to make a choice. For who to side with. While she was sure that she would stand with the slayers when it came down to it, she still wasn't quite sure who was best for them. Xander and the mystery men he worked for. Or Giles and the watchers, who were less than ideal at this point, but were a known quantity.

"I have some experience in the matter." Xander replied, not even grimacing at the thought of his old Sunnydale swim team days. "Let's just say that steroids aren't the only thing that coaches can dose their star swimmers with."

Abby spared him a glance. The team slayer hadn't heard that one before. She turned back to the wheel, keeping the van on track towards their destination.

Xander noticed it. He cupped a hand over the mike. "I never told you about that?"

Abby shook her head.

The former swim team member grunted. There was a chuckle brewing, but it didn't make it out. "I thought I had. Remind me to tell you about it sometime. It was something else. Even for Sunnydale."

Abby nodded. She noticed the distance from things past as well. Near fondness. Things survived with enough time to make them a story to tell. "You've changed. She's changed you. I think I like it."

Xander smiled briefly and then turned back to his work. He wondered if it was true. He could be as cold as the worst of them when needed, but after work, he could actually crack a smile. One that wasn't forced or faked in any way. Vi must be rubbing off on him. He wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or not. Still, he couldn't walk away from her. He wouldn't.

He readjusted his headset. He scrolled down the file he had been sent through e-mail. He'd read through it, but wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything during the briefing. "Okay. We don't know for sure what it is. But, I want you to understand here. If it is the fish men I've known in the past, then they are tough. Stronger and faster than you might think. And big. At least six feet tall each. Up to seven nearabouts. They're not as strong as you, but if they can get in close and surround you, they have a good shot at taking you out. They have excellent vision in the dark. In and out of the water. So don't think the night is going to protect you. Oh, and they eat people."

"So this is a kill mission." Monet spoke up. She was driving the other car, but listening as well. She'd surely be taking a primary position in this, so she made sure to miss nothing.

"Right now, we're going for intel." Xander spoke, then thought for a moment. "If any of you feel at all in danger, then go for the kill. But, we're looking at behavior we've never come across before. Nobody's died yet; in the past they weren't exactly known for restraint. It may mean something."

"No bodies that anyone's noticed." Xander heard Faith's criticism. Valid criticism.

"That's right." Xander affirmed. He was glad that Faith was applying some critical thinking to the situation. Red Hook was big. Too big for them to stay in one group. And with the Aces and Richard gone, he didn't exactly have anybody he could get to help on short notice. The Underdwellers wouldn't care about surface matters, and he couldn't be sure of anyone he could find for hire at any of the local haunts. Not on his time frame. "And I for one, do not want a body count on this one. I'll leave it to you if you want to go for a capture or a kill."

"What kind of vulnerabilities do these things have?" Colleen asked. She mentally went over the weapons they had with them in the vehicle. They weren't exactly loaded for bear, but they should be able to handle a small number of attackers.

The pale skinned brunette had been the last to join up with the Hellions. Part of it had been a crush on Xander. The rest, the sheer skill and bravery that his other slayers had shown. She'd trained hard to be able to match. Her abilities with firearms were second to few. Her hand to hand combat may need some work, but as far as slayers went, she was still one spitfire to be reckoned with. And deadly serious when it came to the fight.

"I can't give you any more specifics. Remember, it may not be what I think it is. There are a lot of things out there that even I, in my near infinite wisdom, do not know about. So we need to be expecting anything." Xander stated. He dragged a small black bag from beneath the seat and opened it up. He dug around inside until he found a small black wallet. He pulled it out and put it into his pocket. Just one of the things he might need for the night and extremely early morning's work. "We don't know much of anything at this point. So we're going to go in, recon the place, and see what we can see. It'd be best if we found it, or them, tonight. If not, we're going to have to keep coming back until they show. So teams. Vi and Colleen. Abby and Faith. Me and Monet. I'll print out maps and give them to you when we get there. A little luck and they should show tonight."

Xander cupped the mike again and turned to Abby. "How much longer you think?"

The A-Team's slayer shrugged. "About fifteen minutes."

Xander nodded. "Okay that's about it for right now. When we get to Red Hook, follow us when we pull up off to the side and stop. Don't try for the security gate yet."

He closed his laptop. "Okay. That's about it. We'll get everything set when we get on site."

Xander yawned and looked over to the slayer again. "Pick a secluded spot. And, wake me when we get there."

He didn't wait for a response, and was asleep in seconds.

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Barnes walked quickly down that hall towards the man in the suit. He wanted to ambush him, but the other guy wasn't making things any easier.

"Mr. Riccols." Barnes said as he came up.

The other man turned, looking at the slightly disheveled man walk up. He glanced at what the field man was wearing. A suit as well. Decidedly less well tailored than his own. "Things have already been decided."

"No." Barnes shook his head. "You can't just do this. We know that the, uh, we know that it's there. I told you. My sources place the object in Yemen. We need to go after it. ASAP."

"Your sources." Mr. Riccols, an intelligence man himself, sighed. He looked down the hallway up and then down. There was nobody else there. Still, it didn't mean that much, even in the hallowed halls of the Pentagon.

He stepped into a corner, pulling Barnes with him. "Arthur. Look. You talk about your sources, but those guys in there pay our checks. And they need a lot more than your word. Your sources."

"It should be good enough." Barnes grumbled. He ran his hand through his hair. He knew he didn't look altogether put together, but he was still the best there was at what he did. That should have mean something. "And my contacts have never been wrong before. You know what they could have in there. We need to go in there and get it."

"Arthur." Riccols shook his head.

"No. The Russian stocks still have units unaccounted for. I have designations of what shipments passing through Africa have made their way to Yemen." Barnes tried to persuade the man from oversight to change his mind. He could tell that he was failing though. "That is evidence."

"Unless you have actual evidence, and I'm talking imagery here, then you have nothing. You work Africa for God's sake. They're not going to think you have more than smoke. Nobody is moving weapons through there to the Middle East anymore. Not after Hasan was taken out, along with his organization." The non-field man shook his head again. "I'm sorry Arthur. We can't authorize an insertion. Not without something hard and real."

"And I can't get you evidence unless I can put somebody on the ground." Barnes snapped back. "You know how it works. Untie my hands and let me do my goddamn job."

"Look. Yemen is not our enemy. They're not exactly on the Axis of Evil, you know? Over there it damn near counts as one of our allies. And we're already hard enough pressed on that front as it is." Riccols ignored the other man's tone. Some of his native Texan accent was coming in. He didn't bother trying to suppress it as he usually did. "We aren't going to send in a team simply because of your word that something's there. Not for a couple of renegades. Even you admit that it isn't the Yemeni government. Too much is at risk. Nobody cares about what might be there. They see the possibility as so remote, that Yemen's political standing is more important. So we don't go in; we don't start a shooting war because of you and your word. You are being watched my friend. So don't try to get any of our guys in there under some other pretext. Cause that shit won't fly. Not under this administration. Not anymore."

Barnes looked angry. But, he didn't react.

He understood it. Pax Americana. There was already enough people over there pissed off at America without adding yet another country. Which was good for strategic reasons. But, it shouldn't always be used as a justification for inaction. It irked him. The security of the country wasn't something that should simply be ignored for a few points on the nightly news.

"Don't pull something here." Riccols warned. "Our forces there are already being watched too. You can't just pull some strings and get some strike team deployed. There's heavy criticism on the Hill already about our deployment as it stands. If you attempt something, and it gets detected, then we are all in for a world of hurt. Listen to me. Listen to me. The world does not revolve around national security as much as the president may want it to seem like. No forces, no American forces, can be deployed to Yemen to go snipe hunting. They will be seen, and you will be held accountable. Don't even try it."

He walked off. Leaving Barnes to seethe.

Arthur Barnes, a man out of his element and angry, didn't miss what was said. What was specifically said. He couldn't send in American troops on a hunch. That didn't mean that was all the resources he had available to him.

Ill-prepared. Unqualified. Amateur. Literally a crime to even attempt it. Just about the stupidest thing he could possibly have thought of. But, it was all he had. And the only one he could trust to do the thing. It wasn't like he could just hire mercenaries. Even if the man weren't the best suited for it, he was due a favor. He'd have to do.

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Xander looked at what the slayers were wearing. It wasn't exactly the type of conventional wear he would have liked, but it would have to do. At least, he hoped it would be alright. It should, as long as nobody was looking at them.

"Okay. Here are the maps. I marked out our routes. Read it. Memorize it. Cause there won't be a quiz. This is the real show." Xander passed around printouts of the area they would be covering. "I circled the sites of the previous attacks in red. As you can see, they all have direct access to the water. That's an exit and entrance that we can't get cover well. There seems to be some kind of pattern. Centered around the main cranes. Good news is that it means there's less of an area to concentrate on. Bad news, is that the imagery I got says it's one of the densest with machinery and containers that need sorting. All sorts of places to hide. We don't know what we may be getting in to. So keep your eyes open. Watch your partner's back, and she'll watch yours."

Xander reached into the van and pulled out a case. He opened it up and pulled out some communications gear. It was the stuff that they had used before. He'd had it recharged so it should last the rest of the night. "Com channel 3. Keep it as quiet as you can unless you pick something up. We don't know how good these guys can hear. They may also be the shy sort if the lack of attacks on humans is any indication. So, eyes wide."

The girls gathered around and pulled out the sets. They placed them in their ears and tested the radios. The functioned as they were required to.

The man dragged a bag out and opened it. Displaying a number of types of weapons. "We go in hard. Full combat load with whatever we got. I don't want any of you getting hurt because you thought it would be an easy run against something weaker than you."

He didn't need to remind his girls of that. Though they could all, him included, do with the constant reminder that there was always someone better out there. Or just luckier. It was for Faith instead. To make sure that she got the message that arrogance in the fight wasn't the way of things. Confidence in one's abilities was okay, and valued. But, to get over-confident meant putting herself and the others in danger. And with his own there, that was something that was not acceptable.

His work with her out in the field after he had come back hadn't actually had her in a primary position. She'd been support in Mexico. And an observer earlier in the night. She may actually have to fight now. He wanted to make sure she made it through the night. That they all made it through the night. "Weapons out. Be ready."

"What if there are people around?" Monet asked. She started studying the map. Taking it in, and making sure she could find multiple ways in and out of any tight spots.

"There aren't going to be." Xander said. He started to pull out other bags from the back, pulling out what weapons he had brought along. He was just glad that they shouldn't be going up against anything that needed any special ammunition. Hopefully, at least. "With these attacks, everyone's got nights off until this thing is solved. Roving guard's been pulled back; and no real vandals are going to risk it. That said, keep your lanes of fire open. No mistakes. No wild shots. There may be some dumb ones out there trying to take advantage. So..."

He looked Vi in the eyes. An unasked question. Not needing to be asked.

She returned the look. "See deep."

Xander nodded and turned to Colleen, looking down at the shorter slayer. Another unasked question.

"Don't fire blind." She returned the look as well.

They didn't really need the reminding. It had been drilled into them by their trainers. As for himself, he could shoot. But, if he needed someone to clear a room, he sent in the Betas. He only went in when he had to. Or when there was a lack of time. Or if he needed to send a message. Heck, the last time he had done that, he'd been shot. That hadn't been pleasant. It was a lesson learned though.

The hunter had taken up to practicing more when he had the time to make up for the deficit. But, he knew where his strengths were. And while he would put himself up against pretty much whatever was out there, he knew that it was better to use the best, than to try to be the best in everything. Cause that never worked.

Xander nodded again. He looked at Faith; she got the message. He knew that she had picked up some training. Shooting, and some of the tactics. But, he wasn't sure if she was ready to be going in with a team for a real fight. If they had to pull off some precision assault, Faith hadn't the time in to be able to integrate in with the rest of them. The Hellions were a team. Faith wasn't part of that yet. And the field wasn't the best place to practice, but still beggars couldn't be choosers. And she was a slayer. The Slayer. They did pick up combat skills fast. Especially when they were open to them. As long as nothing got to heavy, she should do fine. "Right. All we should really have to worry about it is the security guard at the gate. And I got that covered."

"Oh yeah?" Faith asked. She put the map in her pocket and walked over to the open van and the bag that Xander had dragged to the edge. She pulled out a short sword for herself. But, pocketed a small handgun as well. "And how do you figure on doing that?"

Xander smirked and pulled a wallet out of his pocket. He flipped it open so she could see it. "Agent Harris. DHS."

"And how'd you get that?" Faith smirked back. Fake ID. Not unexpected given that he had given some to them for the job in Mexico.

"Wasn't hard." Xander replied, flippantly. "How many people have actually seen a Homeland badge? It's all in the delivery anyway. Look official, and people'll think you are."

Faith didn't exactly look convinced, but she didn't say anything.

"Speaking of which, you guys will be in the car behind us. You don't get out until after the guard can't see you." Xander said, looking at them again. "'Cause, really I don't think you'll be fooling anybody wearing that."

The girls looked at their clothes. Then at Faith's. She glared at him.

"Okay then." Xander said, returning the glare with a cocky smile. "Let's get this done."

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Giles looked over the numbers again. They still didn't add up. It looked like a number of the slayers had turned up missing. Again. He wasn't really worried. They hadn't simply disappeared. Not snatched. Apparently they'd made sure their rotations were covered and had taken some time off.

In a way, it was a wonder that he had even heard about it. The comings and goings of a hundred or more teenage, and hyper, slayers was a logistical nightmare. Robin had set up some scheduling for the assignments, but the chaotic nature of the girls meant that it was next to useless until long after the fact. Too many of them wanted certain nights off, and traded for them. Without reporting and recording it.

It looked like it was the same slayers. For the most part at least. Vi. Obviously. Colleen. Monet. The usual suspects. Xander's girlfriend. One of Vi's best friends. And the slayer that Xander had brought in. The one that seemed more and more like a plant.

He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been a long night and he was feeling it. Feeling his age.

The one that surprised him most was Faith. She had left with them too, it seemed. Evidently without letting Robin know. Xander was obviously trying to get his hooks into the head slayer as well. The logical reason was to try to get to the other slayers. He'd already gotten hold of a number of them. This could get nearly all of his charges. If the influence that Faith had was any indication.

The phone rang; his private line. Interrupting his concentration. Giles put his glasses back on and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Giles." The voice came over the line. No identification, but it really wasn't needed. It did sound a bit hesitant though.

"Buffy?" Giles questioned. The first slayer he had been in charge of didn't come around there anymore. No official resignation or anything, but a slow and steady decrease in visits over the last year had been all the notice necessary to demonstrate that she was getting out of the life. That she was out of the life. It was something of a shock to hear her voice now. "Is something wrong?"

"Just about everything." Buffy said, the anguish mixed with some other emotions came over the line clearly. "I need your help."

"Anything." Giles replied after a moment. "What's the matter?"

"It's Xander." Buffy stated. She breathed a little heavily. Still feeling the effects of the night's fight. "He did something do the Immortal and now I'm in New York and don't know what to do."

"Do you need me to send someone?" Giles asked. He was concerned. Doubly so with Xander being involved. Buffy was usually very self-assured. Very much the definition of a tough chick. She didn't exactly sound it now. "Do you need money for a ticket?"

"No. I have enough money for now. I can get a ticket." Buffy said. She still had her old cards, with some cash in her accounts, but mostly she lived off of the Immorta's dime. That wouldn't last that much longer if the Immortal didn't show up. She'd have to get to where she needed to be before resources started disappearing. "Just, send someone to the airport to get me."

"Of course." Giles said, somewhat happy that Buffy was coming back. But, more concerned about why Xander had targeted the Immortal. And what he had in store for the future. "When?"

"I got the next flight available out. So I should be there at six fifteen." Buffy stated, with some relief in her voice. She knew that she wouldn't exactly be welcomed back by her watcher, but at least there wasn't obvious loathing there. It was something at least. "And Giles. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Giles replied. He hung up the phone.

Xander. Making a move on Buffy's boyfriend. He had heard Robin talk about the Immortal. There may have been something there. But, with Xander there it may have been more than just something to be wary of.

At least he had another ally now, when it came down to the increasingly obvious confrontation with Xander.

He only hoped that if Riley was supplying Xander with weapons, that that relationship was strictly professional. And that it would end if Buffy came back into the picture. At least he didn't have to go to her.

There was a definite advantage in making the first move. To make the other have to react to you. The older British man may be more paper pusher than stake pusher now days, but that didn't mean he didn't know anything about strategy or tactics.

He'd need to be ready though. Xander was no amateur. Not anymore.

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They all got back in the car, Xander taking the van, driving this time. He rolled down the window on his way there. The secret government agent pulled up in front of the security gate, waiting for the security guard stationed there to come out and confront them. He didn't have to wait long.

"Can I help you with something?" The rather portly guard asked him, skeptically. His hand went to his belt, near the handgun holstered at his side. The man in the van wasn't exactly impressive. One eye, and rather tired looking, he was the definition of someone that didn't belong there. Normally, he wouldn't have been so careful, but given what had happened in the last week or so, he was on edge.

He may not look it, especially now, but Mickey Dugin could still tangle with the best of them.

"Yeah." Xander stated as if bored with the situation. He extended his hand out the window, flipping open the badge. "Agent Harris. DHS. We got the call about what's been going on and they sent me down to investigate. So open the gate. If you please."

The guard looked at the badge. Then at the man. It looked legitimate, as far as he could tell. Still, the guards had been told to be extra careful. The heat was already coming down on them by the city to keep the harbor safe. Enough cargo passed through Red Hook to make all of them extra paranoid at anything out of the ordinary. And a one-eyed guy in the middle of the night certainly qualified. "Really? Where's your clearance?"

"The badge is my clearance." Xander stared at the guard, turning up the bored annoyance. "Now open the gate."

"I'm going to need to get authorization for that." The guard backed up slowly, not letting the man out of his view.

"Sure." Xander said before he could get too far away. He turned up the pressure. "You do that. Call your boss in the middle of the night. And then he could call my boss in the middle of the night. And he'll tell your boss to stop bothering him in the middle of the night and to let me in and let me do my job. Now, I don't want to wake my boss up in the middle of the night. And, you really don't want to wake up my boss in the middle of the night. So, do you want to do that to _your_ boss? Cause I can wait. Cause it ain't going to be my ass that gets chewed out for it. So what's it going to be, sir?"

The guard hesitated. It wasn't much, but Xander knew that he had him. The guard nodded. He reached inside the guard station and hit a button on the panel attached to the wall, beneath the glass window looking out towards the road to the terminal. The gate started to open slowly. "Go on through."

"Thanks." Xander smiled at him. It always came down to delivery. Act like you owned the place, and most people thought you did. Hell, they'd give you the keys to the kingdom if you asked nicely enough.

He'd gone through more doors on attitude and likeability alone than through persuasive force. Hell of a thing. People trusting you to be what you said you were. Way too easy to use. And oh so useful. Such was the life. Such was the game they played.

He drove in. Into the killing grounds most like. 

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Author's Note: I didn't want to make it seem like I was begging for reviews or that it was required or anything. But feedback is always appreciated. Thanks.


	52. Chapter Fifty One

**Chapter 51: Lead the Way**

Xander adjusted his headset, making sure that they didn't pinch. The night vision goggles were state of the art, so it didn't give him mono-vision due to his particular affliction. Not like his old pair did; back when he didn't have a government toy store to borrow from. The slayers didn't bother with any vision enhancing equipment. The low light was enough for them to see nearly as clear as day. Goggles would have just slowed them down. Though they still brought some with them, just in case they went anywhere with even less light.

The slayers had left behind some of the available armor as well. There wasn't a high probability of them getting shot, so they didn't need ballistic plates. Only something to protect them from getting clawed and the like. They would also be able to utilize their natural agility better without the extra bulk. It wasn't the ideal solution, but things shouldn't be too bad in there. And they needed that particular ability to react quickly over relying on straight up armor.

"Okay." Xander brought his G36C up to a ready position, and tested the laser sight. It worked, and he turned it off. He looked over at the women. They were prepping up too.

Colleen and Vi were carrying Sig Sauer 552's. Better than full battle rifles for the close in work that they could expect. They carried melee weapons as well, stowed in carriers attached to the armor on their backs.

He checked to make sure that nothing was out of place. "Let's start our sweeps and make sure the area is clear. After that, I'll call in on what we should do."

Abby loaded her now signature customized M4 and made sure the strap was at the right length for easy access. But, not long enough to get snagged on anything. She glanced over at her partner. Faith was still only carrying the sword, but at least she was carrying a sidearm in a holster as well. It was a small step at least. She nodded at her. Faith nodded back. At least the more rebellious Council slayer was more calm than she had been said to be in the past. If she had to get into a firefight with a slayer by her side, she'd prefer one that wouldn't acted rashly and give in to battle rage. Flipping out here and moving in a less than controlled manner would just put everyone else in danger.

Xander looked over the other slayers as well. Monet slipped a magazine into her MP5, and readied it. She returned the look and tilted her head. Xander kept moving his view and turned to Faith. The only real unknown asset he had going in. He couldn't be sure exactly how she'd react if things got hairy and the bullets started flying. That was why he had put her with Abby. She'd been damn near marine trained since birth. The one to be able to handle the post-reckless slayer if she proved less than able. Or if she fell back on to her old habits.

Faith looked okay. He could see in her eyes, some amount of anticipation. Of course, they all had it in them. No hint of the deadly passion that she had shown in the past. That could be blinding. And lead to a bunch of dead young women. She had fire, he could tell that. But, it wasn't an overwhelming one. It was a drive, but not an careless one.

Xander safetied his weapon and let it hang. He walked over to the still official lead Council slayer. He reached around and adjusted the straps of the armor. Making sure it was tight. "You good?"

Faith looked back at him. She was slightly unnerved by the proximity, as well as the cold tone in which he spoke. It wasn't mean, just like there wasn't anything inside. He had a blank expression on his face too. Like he didn't feel anything. For some reason it was worse than if he acted like he hated her. She struggled slightly to look him in the eye. "How are you so good at this stuff? Guns and the soldier-boy routine?"

Xander returned her look. He stepped around her to check the fasteners on her back. "There was some magic thing about five years ago. Didn't know it at the time, but I dressed as a Ranger for Halloween one year, and some chaos mage turned me into one for the night. Guess some stuff stuck, after all this time. Good for us, no?"

"Uh, why do you know guns then? I don't recall this type of thing being used by the guys that take care of forests and shit." Faith turned around to look at him straight on. She only barely noticed the others looking at them.

"That's Army Ranger." Xander looked her over again; making sure everything was in its place. He didn't say it sarcastically in any way though. They'd moved past that.

For a second he was tempted to add in the typical army interjection with that. The one that meant anything and everything except no. But, he couldn't. He hadn't earned the right. He may have some Ranger training stuck in his head; much less rusty now, but that didn't mean he was one. He hadn't earned a tab.

"I don't remember you being like this back in Sunnydale." Faith was only slightly embarrassed by the misunderstanding. And was glad that Xander hadn't used the opportunity to get a dig in.

He picked up his weapon, feeling the comfortable weight. "That is definitely true. Guess I just didn't work hard enough at it. Wish to God I had though."

He walked back to the front again. Xander could tell that the rest were ready. "Okay. Let's go. Teams of two. Keep it slow, tight, and quiet."

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The detective put the file that she was staring at down. Her palms went to her eyes and rubbed. It was nearly three in the morning and she was still at her desk looking over the latest results from the police lab. They didn't say anything more than the previous ones did. Contaminated samples. Inconclusive. Worthless.

She didn't know whether they were intentionally trying to cover something up, or if they just couldn't wrap their heads around the idea that it might be something out of their limited frame of reference. She didn't know if she should be angry at them or just depressed.

A cup of coffee was placed in front of her, startling her from her reverie. She looked up at her partner.

"Still here Kate?" Detective Ruffalo smirked and leaned against her desk. The smile lit up his handsome face, and made him look years younger. Nearly a boy. "Double shift and you look like hammered shit."

"Always a pleasure Gordy." Detective Lockley picked up her coffee and took a sip. It was terrible. But, given the time, the best she could expect. "And I notice you're still here."

"Well. If you want to get noticed, you got to put in the hours. And don't call me that." Gordon replied. He looked at the file that his partner had been reviewing. "Red Hook? You still on that thing? We work homicide remember? That is a little out of our way you know."

"I just don't want it getting that far. I have a feeling about this one." Kate sighed and rubbed her neck. She knew that some of her reputation had followed her from the West Coast. Even after five years or so it still haunted her. Sometimes it just found her. Sometimes it came looking.

"A feeling. There's always a feeling. Like that guy found a couple months back shot in the head? You got the feeling there was something there too." Gordon shook his head. Kate was a good detective. And a good partner. Despite the past troubles in LA that were in her record. But, she had a way of getting involved in things she shouldn't. Good thing he was there looking out for her. "And that was likely just something personal that got hot. None of your freaky shit there. And I really don't think a couple of cases of vandalism and some reports by some longshoremen with overactive imaginations amounts to something worth our extremely valuable time."

Kate stood up and grabbed her jacket, slipping it on. Her coffee was left on her desk, mostly untouched. "I'm going out there to take a look around. You going to come with me?"

Gordon watched as she left. He sighed and picked up her abandoned cup of coffee. He placed it in the trashcan next to her desk. The detective shook his head; he really shouldn't be doing this anymore. Not if he ever wanted to get promoted. Still, that was his partner walking down the hall. He jogged after her, trying to catch up.

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Xander swept the small aisle before him. The packing containers stacked high had created all sorts of corners and blind alleys for all sorts of creatures to be hiding in. They hadn't found anything so far. But, they had heard a couple of things. Rustling. Wet rustling, like thick flesh rubbing against itself. And naked feet slapping water against the pavement. There was something there that night. And it didn't sound human.

He reached one of the areas that had been circled on the map. A small backup power generator for the lights. Or at least, that was what it used to do.

Xander signaled to his partner for the night to keep a look out. He knelt down, pushing his weapon out of the way in order to examine the site. He couldn't tell much through the goggles and the dim light, but he could tell that it had been ripped apart. By strong hands. Clawed ones too. There was anger there. But, nobody had been hurt. It just didn't make any sense.

The night hadn't proved all that fruitful so far. Some examination of the "attack" sites, but that hadn't given them much more than what the police reports had. Still, there was something to be said for seeing a crime scene for oneself.

The hunter stood up and grasped his weapon again. He heard a sound off to his left. Near the row of warehouses that kept the shipments for medium and long term holding. The ones people usually didn't go into. It sounded like it came from one of them. Xander looked towards the origin of the noise, but couldn't see anything.

Xander put up a hand, signaling Monet to cover him while he walked towards the area. He kept quiet. It was still in his patrol quadrant, so he didn't contact the others. They had their own areas to cover. And as long as he stayed in his own sector, he didn't have to worry about getting caught in a crossfire.

He made his way towards the warehouses, careful not to be drawn into an ambush. Xander checked every intersection and blind spot on the way there. The warehouse closest to where he had heard the sound was open. A sign over the entrance labeled it as the 16th warehouse there. Its large doors rested against the walls, and provided a clear view of much of the storage area. It wasn't all the way full, but there were enough containers in there to make it a difficult room to try to clear.

Xander moved towards it from the left, and motioned for Monet to take the other side. When he had reached the outer wall, he crept down it, until he was nearly at the open door. Monet had reached the other side, and he signaled for her to scan the open interior.

She nodded, slinging her weapon and pulling out a small dental mirror. The slayer angled the mirror across the open space, looking for movement. There wasn't anything there. She packed it up and took up her weapon again. Monet looked at her partner/leader and shook her head.

Xander clenched his jaw and nodded. Hardly what he wanted to do that night. He motioned the slayer to come to him.

Monet moved back the way she had come and ducked behind some rusting containers, making her way towards him stealthily. The idea being not to let anyone inside know they were coming.

Xander waited until she was at his rear. He breathed in and readied his weapon. He felt Monet put a hand on his shoulder. The hunter slipped inside quietly checking the immediate area. It was washed in green, the ambient light from outside allowing him just enough light to see. The way was clear, and he made his way towards the left, taking up cover. He felt rather than heard or saw his partner follow him in, covering the position front and to the right. All areas in view to prevent anyone or anything from getting the drop on them.

He crouched down and leaned against one of the cargo containers. Xander could feel the sweat beading on his brow. The cool metal of the container helped some. The moonlight had started to get obscured at times from passing clouds. It didn't do that much to his vision thankfully. He moved along the container towards the end nearest the left wall of the warehouse. He peeked around the corner quickly, exposing more of his head than he would have liked. There was nothing to be seen.

Xander glanced back and nodded. He moved forward again, Monet taking up the rear guard. They worked in silence. No need to speak to each other. Such was the nature of their relationship. Such was the nature of his relationship with all his slayers.

He thought about Vi, somewhere close, doing the same thing. He suppressed the thought though. Couldn't allow himself to lose focus. Couldn't worry about her and stay on top of the immediate.

Xander heard another sound. Louder this time. Sounded like more than one as well. In front of him and to the right. Given the layout, he would definitely need more people to successfully clear the building with minimal risk.

He stopped and leaned against the end of one of the cargo containers. Monet did the same. He checked the narrow path leading towards the center aisle of the warehouse. It was empty, but unfortunately that also meant that there wasn't any cover to the other side. Pity.

Xander looked down to the end of the warehouse. That path was free as well. This was as good a place as any to make a turn.

Xander thumbed the mike to his communications gear. He spoke softly so as to not attract attention. With the microphone strapped to his throat, it wasn't really a concern. "Team leads, this is Snake Eye. Have detected movement. Sounds like multiple targets. Any on your end?"

He heard Abby and Vi respond. Negatives from both slayers. It looked like events were confined to their current location.

"Alright. Advance to my position, full stealth approach. Warehouse 16. Door's open." Xander whispered. He took another look around to see if anyone had overheard him.

"Target is in the northeast corner. I'm on the left between two containers, about halfway down the warehouse."

He glanced towards Monet. She shook her head, telling him that there still wasn't any movement that she could detect. "Move in from the right, and take cover at the east end of the building. Let me know when you're in place."

"Affirmative." Abby stated over the radio. She started towards the meet point, careful to make sure she made sure her way was clear. Faith followed.

"Affirmative. Vi confirmed over the radio. Xander's girlfriend took up her weapon in both hands again and started towards him. Colleen followed, covering her back.

Xander nodded to himself and looked up making sure he wouldn't get ambushed from above. He settled in, his gun pointing forward. The agent on assignment kept an ear out though. To make sure nobody tried to sneak up on them in the interim.

They were getting closer. It was something at any rate. Now all he had to do was wait for his reinforcements to come in.

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"Is there something I can help you with?" Mickey Dugin asked the second visitor he had had that night. It was positively busy now.

"Yes. I need to go in and examine the crime scene." Detective Lockley held out her badge. Dugin only paid cursory attention to it. With all that had happened, he'd seen enough NYPD badges to know that she was the real deal.

Mickey just looked at her. Normally he'd be watching the late late show on his small TV inside his nice climate controlled security station. It wasn't normal times though. "What's this about? I already let the Homeland Security guy in. What do you guys need now?"

Kate narrowed her eyes. It wasn't her case, but she should have heard about a DHS agent if he had been sent to investigate any crime in New York City. Especially if it had happened in her district. She looked over to her partner. Gordon looked just as confused as she was.

The police detective looked back at the guard. "Who?"

The security guard sighed. He was getting real tired with the government types. They never let guys like him now anything, even when it came down to giving him the heads up on when they might be coming in. Now, it seemed like they didn't even bother to keep each other informed. "You know? The one-eyed guy. Had a patch over his left eye. Something Harris."

"Okay." Detective Lockley replied. She wasn't sure what was going on, but some mysterious Homeland agent, or someone passing himself off as one, operating in New York City on this case peaked her weird-o-meter. "I'll be sure to talk to him. Now, if you could open the gate."

"Okay." Dugin said. He didn't really care that much anymore. Let the cops bring in as many as they wanted to. It was no skin off his nose. On the other hand, it did explain why they had to pay such high taxes.

He walked back to guardhouse and triggered the controls for the gates. They opened and he watched as the pretty blonde cop drove in.

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"Snake Eye this is Dragonfly. We've linked up with Breezer and are in position." Xander heard a voice over his radio. It was Vi. Certainly didn't take them long to get there.

"Affirmative Dragonfly." Xander gave his response. "Check the path along the wall and see if it's clear."

Vi moved forward carefully along the cargo container, and peeked around the corner. There wasn't much light. She pulled a pair of night vision goggles and placed them on her face. She nodded towards the others, who did the same thing. Only Faith didn't, not having had the training to utilize them in battle. That came later.

The slayer looked around the corner again. She caught movement. A large creature paced in the far corner. The barest of light from the outside reflected off of the humanoid's slick, but bumpy dark skin. She could just make out three ridges rising up from the creature's head.

"Snake Eye, this is Dragonfly I have a visual." Vi whispered into her mike. "It's about six and a half feet tall and looks like the creature from the black lagoon. Except there are three vertical fins on its head."

Xander remembered his last experience with such things. The description fit. However, when his former teammates had changed, they'd become fairly vicious killers. It didn't make sense that these ones didn't seem to attack people, even when given a prime opportunity. And there hadn't been a spike in missing persons cases in the areas. Nothing even amongst the homeless that sometimes congregated near the terminal. They might have changed their food source, but the random attacks on machinery and equipment didn't fit their usual methodology either. Things just didn't add up.

"Okay." Xander replied quietly. "I'm going to advance forward from my position perpendicular to you. We will then move down the central aisle to the end of the warehouse. See if you can get someone the high ground. Be prepared to fire if needed. You are now in weapons hold. I repeat, weapons hold. Come back."

"Confirmed weapons hold Snake Eye." Vi told him. She glanced back at the others. They nodded an acknowledgement to her.

"Colleen. Find a good vantage point to cover Xander." Vi ordered.

Colleen nodded and looked around. She noticed a ladder leading up to a second floor and started to scale it. She stayed in the dark as much as possible and glanced behind her before she had to move into the light. The small slayer made sure she wasn't seen when she climbed the rest of the way up.

Once she reached the top, she lay down in a spot of dark and moved her Sig 552 into position. She kept the laser sight off and the scope capped. Didn't want to give the enemy any premature indication of her presence. "Snake Eye, this is High Hat. I am on the second floor, at the right rear wall. Waiting for your command."

Xander moved around the corner and stopped at the end of the path. He checked both sides and forward, making sure there was nothing close by. He readied himself, and made a silent run towards the other side. Monet followed as well.

He leaned against the container, and listened for any signs that he or the girls had been detected. There wasn't anything. He moved down the line towards the far end of the warehouse, making sure to check each path he crossed. He reached the last and stopped. "Dragonfly. I am at the end and am preparing to engage. Keep your eyes open."

"Confirmed." Vi replied. She lay down into a prone position, ready to fire. Abby took a position next to her, prepared to support. Faith took up the rear and watched their backs, her gun in her right hand, and her sword in a sheath lying flat against her back.

Xander stepped around the corner, gun sweeping the narrow corridor. He saw something large move in the dark. It was familiar, somewhat frighteningly familiar. Luckily it had its back towards him. Another one was crouched down near it, looking at something in the corner. He couldn't make out what the subject of its attention was.

If there had been any previous casualties, Xander would have opened fired. As it was, he wanted to know why things had gone down as they had. Why they had not attacked when stumbled upon. It could be important after all. He spoke loudly. "I don't suppose you're allowed to crash here."

The larger standing creature spun around and looked for the speaker. It growled when it saw the two humans standing there. Pointing weapons at him. It didn't try to attack them though. It just stayed in place, pacing side to side a bit.

"You haven't killed anyone so far. That's why I haven't opened fire yet." Xander didn't know if they understood him or not. But, they didn't seem to be reacting. So it was something at the very least.

"Who are you?" The standing mutated fish man nearly spat out. Its voice was gravelly and awkward, like its mouth couldn't work like it used to. The other one stood up and looked at the two invaders.

"You can talk now." Xander said, somewhat unnecessarily. "Okay. I don't know if you remember, but I'm Xander. From the swim team. I'm not here to hurt you if I don't need to. We need to take you in. People aren't going to stand for you making trouble here, so you're going to have to come with me. Nobody's dead here, so we can make this work. I promise that you won't come to harm. As long as you don't try anything. Please."

The one that hadn't spoken growled. It started to pace as well, but more quickly than the first. It was a bit smaller, but seemed to be thicker in build.

"Okay. Just relax. Just come with us." Xander wondered which one it was. He looked towards the taller one. "Who were, are, who are you?"

"I…I don't remember." The creature grunted out.

"Dodd? Cameron? Gage?" Xander suggested. The creature didn't seem to react.

"Gage." The former schoolmate repeated. It stopped. "Gage."

"Okay." Xander said. He looked toward the other one. "And you might be?"

The creature didn't react.

"Look. I'm going to lower my weapon." Xander shifted his aim down, ready to bring it up if need be. He may have to make the first overture, but he wasn't going to take any chances. "And then you can come with me. I have some people. They can see about getting you fixed up. Changed back. How does that sound?"

The one that hadn't spoke started to run forward. Xander raised his weapon to get a clear shot, but it didn't matter. The other creature, Gage, grabbed it in a lightning fast move and threw the more volatile monster into the side of the warehouse. He growled and took hold of his former teammate. The mutated one.

Xander held his fire, trying to figure things out. Evidently the gill men weren't of one mind when it came to what they used to be. He thumbed his mike. "Hold fire."

The girls confirmed, but Xander didn't bother to acknowledge. He watched as the smaller one kicked Gage off of him. They stared at each other, growling, the humans forgotten.

The smaller one moved first, running towards Gage. It managed to get a strike in, before Gage could find an opening. They wrestled until the larger creature was able to utilize his reach and take hold of the other fish man's head. The former Sunnydale swim team member growled and twisted with all his might. The snap was audible, even to the slayers at the other end of the building.

"Okay." Xander didn't bother looking at the corpse that Gage had just let fall. "I take it you want to go with me?"

The remaining creature nodded.

"Where are the other guys from the team?" Xander asked, wondering if this was the end of their line.

The fish man looked at his fallen comrade. "Dead. Last."

"You're the last. The only one left." Xander figured things out. Being the last could certainly change things. Like other sports team, they had been a family. With the rest gone, whatever the reason, Gage might have saw that things needed to change. Not everyone always wanted that though.

Gage stepped back, nearer to the corner and pointed down. It motioned for Xander to come over and look.

Xander lowered his weapon a fraction. He moved his head towards Monet. "Keep watch. This could still be a trap."

"Got it." Monet said, she moved towards the right, keeping her field of fire open. Her weapon was already raised and sighted to take out the fish man if he made an openly hostile move.

Xander took a step forward. Then another, carefully moving to whatever it was that Gage wanted him to see. It took a moment to figure out. It didn't really make any sense, and the night vision didn't exactly make things easier.

He saw shredded cardboard and rags laid down in the corner. It had been matted down in the center, and inside rested a large semi-spherical shape. It was somewhat glistening in the small bits of light that reached that corner, but Xander was able to tell what it was.

An egg.

Xander drew a breath in. He didn't want to think about how that was possible. They may have been hermaphrodites. Or had sexual relations with a shark or something. That wasn't exactly something he wanted to think about.

He looked up at Gage. "Are there any more?"

The fish man shook his head.

Xander couldn't see any real reaction in its face, nor would have been able to read it if the mutated human had been capable of showing them. But, he believed him. Or maybe it was just hope that they wouldn't see an explosion of such things. Gage may not want to kill, but that didn't mean any others would feel the same way. He'd hate it if these things spawned. "Then you and he are the last. We can see about helping you. If you come with us. That's what you want? We can protect you and your, egg, if you want."

Gage looked back at his former teammate. And nodded.

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"This is stupid." Ruffalo swept his flashlight around. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary however. Just rows of shipping containers, warehouses, and the odd bulk of machinery. "What do you think we're even going to find out here?"

"Nothing, if you don't keep your mouth shut." Kate said, annoyed at her partner. Still, she felt somewhat heartened that he had bothered to come with her. He may complain sometimes, but he was there for her. As a partner should be. And that meant something.

She saw one of the areas that had been designated as one of the attack sites. There wasn't much there anymore, but busted machinery. It seemed to be a generator of sorts. Likely backup to power the lights. She shone her flashlight onto it.

It was thoroughly trashed, but there was still something it could tell her. Officially, the police reports said that the damage had been made by a tool. Like a pry bar or some other such thing. To her, close up and live, the marks on it looked like it had been done with claws. Ripped apart through sheer brute force.

Kate gripped her flashlight harder in her left hand, and unsnapped the latch on the sidearm belted to her side. She pulled it out and flicked off the safety.

"Kate." Gordon warned as he saw what his partner had done. Softly though. It certainly wasn't proper police procedure. Of course, technically they shouldn't have been there at all. "What the hell are you doing?"

A crash echoed towards them. Kate looked up, swinging her light towards the row of warehouses in the distance that seemed to be where the sound emanated from. She couldn't tell exactly which one it was though. "Get your gun out. I think something's here with us."

Gordon sighed, but did as his partner advised him. He swung his light over towards the warehouses to. He didn't see anything though. "It was probably just a cat or something."

"Right. Just a cat." Kate repeated. She started towards the warehouses. Looked like her hunch had paid off.

"If there's anybody there just make sure you holster your gun. We don't want to get sued here." Gordon said towards her retreating back. "Man."

He rushed to follow her.

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"So what are we going to be doing with fishstick back there?" Faith asked as she followed Xander out of the warehouse.

He had had Vi and Colleen drag the other body out of the warehouse and weigh it down with some bricks. With the fish in the sea, there was a good chance that nobody would ever find the corpse. In any recognizable form in any case.

Xander had considered taking it back with him, for examination, but Gage had nixed that idea with a loud grunt. He couldn't blame him. He wouldn't want his own dead to be dissected for research.

He looked at the slayer. "Don't call him that."

"What's the matter?" Faith smiled wryly. Abby walked up with her and frowned. The other slayer was antagonizing Xander. Mild ribbing. It was the wild slayer's way, but she wasn't sure if it would help matters.

"That could very easily have been me." Xander stated. He looked towards Abby's suppressed look of shock.

"His name is Gage." Xander explained. "We were on the swim team together. Well, he was on the team, and I just joined, undercover like. It looked like something had killed some of them and we were trying to figure out what it was. Turned out that the something was what they were turning into. I got exposed to the same drugs that they were. But, my case was caught in time. The rest, well they weren't so lucky."

Abby wondered if that was part of the reason why he had went the extra step in trying to take them alive. If he felt some sort of kinship with them. "What happened?"

"Escaped. They got out to sea. And I got healed." Xander continued. West Coast to East. A hell of a long way to swim. All around one continent or another. "That's about it. Gage wasn't the nicest fella. But, he didn't deserve this. And I figure, if possible, we should try to help him. If he can change, maybe he deserves to be saved."

"And the egg?" Faith asked.

Xander shrugged. They had reached the vehicles and had started to put their equipment away. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

He opened the back doors to the van. He placed his rifle inside and took out a small black bag. He pulled out a pair of manacles.

Turning around to face his team, he gave his orders. "Okay. Abby, go with Vi, Monet, and Colleen. There should be some guys at the drop point, but call ahead first and make sure they know that he isn't hostile. Faith will come with me. I'll drop her off at the airport and then come find you guys."

He looked at the fish man that had come with them, cradling his egg as if it was the most important thing in the world. To him, it may very well be. "Gage. I'm going to have to put these on you. And they're going to be covering you on the way back. It's a precaution. I trust you won't do anything to make me regret sparing your life?"

Gage looked at him. And nodded. He held out his arms, still clutching the egg. The fish man let himself be chained, noting that the small human made sure not to jostle the egg. A small point in the human's favor.

"Okay. It'll be okay. They're going to take you to some people that will try to help you." Xander said. He wasn't really worried. Even if Gage wasn't trustworthy, he knew that his girls would be more than a match for him. Xander looked towards Monet. "You can take the SUV. We'll take the van back. Make the drop."

The girls packed their things and got in the car. Xander watched them as they finished and Monet got in the driver's seat. He walked around to the other side and closed the door as Abby got in next to the driver. "Abby, get Lampkin to get in touch with the Russians."

"Why?" Abby thought about the extra information she had learned about her leader. It seemed like he still had a heart, at least more than just for Vi and his own. That he wasn't just cold hard logic and calculations. He was still the scariest son of a bitch she had ever met, but underneath that executioner surface, he was still a sensitive and caring person inside. That hadn't been completely destroyed.

"It was an old Soviet program." Xander looked in the back, making sure that they were all settled in. "They may have some research that could help reverse the process. At least somewhere we can start."

Abby nodded. "Okay."

"Good. Now go." Xander stepping back from the car. He started around back, towards his own vehicle.

"Xander." Abby called after him. She saw him stop and turn towards her. "You did the right thing."

Xander smiled and started walking again. He reached the van as the other car drove off. He took off the rest of his equipment and put it in the back of the van. He waited for Faith to do the same and closed the doors when they were done.

"What was that about?" Faith asked. She wondered why Xander had structured his team as he had. The fish guy was big and strong, but three slayers was overkill.

"Nothing." Xander said. "Besides. We need to talk."

"What ab-" Faith started to ask, stopping when she saw to people with flashlights come towards them. They were a fair bit away, but she got the feeling that they weren't just civilians.

Xander looked behind him, towards what Faith was looking at. He saw a tall blonde woman and dark haired man come towards them. He wondered if he needed to go for the gun that he still had at the small of his back. Of course, if they were there innocently, than pulling a gun wouldn't help matters. And it certainly wouldn't be covert. "Don't do anything. Remember, we're supposed to be here. Let me do the talking. You can act intimidating or something."

Faith nodded.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Xander asked as the two came within speaking distance. He stepped out in front, drawing the attention to him. The government agent watched as the male looked at him, then at Faith, eyes lingering on her neckline. The female however, seemed to concentrate on him. The eye patch especially. She was sizing him up. That was clear. As if he was the bigger threat.

Xander entertained whether he should be flattered by that or not. He saw the bulges that were at the side of both of the newcomers' hips. Guns no doubt. There shouldn't be any official police presence there. And they didn't look like security guards. It didn't leave many possibilities. None of them favorable.

"Yeah. You can show me some identification." Kate said, looking the man up and down. No visible weapons but that didn't mean anything. She glanced over towards the woman that was there, standing near the van and in shadow. She noticed the young woman step out a bit more into view. Distracting her partner. Something about her...

A flash of recognition and her gun was in her hand. Kate raised it at one more of the creatures of the night. "You. Faith. Get down on the ground. Do it now."

Gordon didn't know what to do, but he had to back up his partner. He pulled his weapon as well, covering the man with the eye patch. "NYPD. Hands on your head."

Xander was shocked. That was unexpected. A cop that could identify Faith by sight. No way to have predicted that. He watched as the male pulled a gun as well and bark orders at him. He shook his head and raised his hands up, muttering.

"Aw crap."

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Author's Note: Elaine: It depends on what you consider the whole truth. Remember, Buffy is coming at things from her perspective. Part of that is bias. Part of that is that she's working off of incomplete information. That will skew what she can say just as much, or even more so.

Thanks for the reviews.


	53. Chapter Fifty Two

**Chapter 52: Nothing But**

"Okay. Let's everyone calm down." Xander looked at the cop that had a gun on him. The police officer didn't exactly look like he was in control of the situation. He kept looking at the other one. The lady cop. They didn't come in expecting this. And likely weren't in contact with anyone else. Not with how twitchy the guy was. And how he kept looking at his partner. It would have been quite easy to step forward, disarm the male and use his weapon to shoot the other in the head. With his body armor, there wasn't that much risk. It would have to be a head shot though. The cops would also be wearing Kevlar vests.

Still, that was a line he didn't exactly want to cross. Not until he was certain that they were actually cops. So, he kept his hands raised.

"What are you doing?" Gordon hissed towards his partner. He kept switching between Kate and the guy he was holding up. He didn't like the look of him. The one-eyed guy was way too calm. Like he had expected it or something. Just biding his time, until he could make a move. "This is not what we came here for."

"Shut up." Kate snapped back. She watched as the fugitive she had stumbled upon didn't move. It wasn't much of a reassurance given what she had learned about the young woman. "I said, on the ground. Now. Do it now."

"Uh, could you show us some identification?" Xander asked. If they weren't who they said they were, then he could move. It would make it so much easier if they weren't what they claimed to be. The government agent got the feeling that the three of them worked for the same boss though. "Just so I know that you aren't just here to rob us."

Ruffalo reached into his pocket with the hand that held his flashlight and pulled out his badge. He showed it to the man, keeping the gun on him at all times. Never even letting his eyes leave his target.

"That's good enough." Xander said. He couldn't really tell if it was real, but it probably was. Especially since there wouldn't be many that could have just snuck in there and identify Faith by sight. "Can I get some names?"

"Detective Ruffalo. That's Detective Lockley." Gordon stated. He was getting antsy. This was not what police work was.

"Now. On the ground." Kate stated impatiently. She didn't stop looking at the slayer.

Xander wondered if there was something personal there. That was quite a bit of animosity for it to be recognition off of a wanted poster or something. He turned his head towards the slayer. "I think you better do what the lady detective says right now. Before anybody makes any life ending decisions."

"Xander." Faith growled. She didn't move though. No way was she going back to jail. She wondered what she should do. She wasn't going back, but she couldn't just take out the cops. With the guns, she'd likely have to severely injure one or both. Maybe even kill them. That wasn't acceptable. Not anymore.

Xander took a breath. The situation was getting out of control. If Faith tried anything, he'd be forced to act. And killing innocent cops just doing their jobs wasn't something he looked forward to. "Faith. Just relax. Everyone, be cool."

Xander turned his head slowly and looked her in the eyes. "Remember when I told you we had to talk?"

"Yeah. But, now isn't the time." Faith snapped back. She was getting edgy. That much was clear in her tensed posture.

"I think maybe it is." Xander turned back and looked at the blonde detective. "I am going to reach into my pocket and take out my identification. Okay? Let's all be careful about this. She's not going to move, I'm not going to move much, just let me show you my identification and we can all sort this thing out."

The blonde nodded at him. She was ready to adjust her aim and fire at him if he tried anything. The man certainly didn't look like a government agent. Despite the attempt at a calm inducing expression on his face.

Xander swallowed and reached into his pocket slowly, pulling out the black wallet that held his identification. He carefully opened it, showing it to both of the police officers. "See. Department of Homeland Security. The guard at the front gate may have mentioned it. Now if you could please but away your weapons, we can discuss this in a civilized manner. My associate over there, she's not going to try anything. Are you?"

Faith rolled her eyes. But, nodded. It was dumb. Like a fake badge would get the two cops to leave. Given the situation though, she had to let Xander call the shots and let things play themselves out. It was frustrating though. She might have to let herself get captured and try to escape later. The thought of being shoved in a police car didn't fill her with any glee however. Nor what to do about getting Xander out of it.

"You expect me to believe this?" Detective Lockley asked skeptically. She shone her light on the badge. It looked real enough, but she couldn't believe it. Not by looking at the man in front of him. He looked serious enough, and looked like he could handle himself. But the eyes, well eye, spoke of something much darker.

Xander sighed. He glanced back at Faith. Certainly not the situation he wanted to be in when he had to tell her the truth. "Right. I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. Can't be too careful now days. Okay. Call it in."

"What?" Detective Ruffalo blurted out. He had stayed in the back, trying to figure things out, but it was getting ridiculous. From his partner pulling her firearm, to some thug pulling out a badge, he had a feeling that things had gone way over his head. And way out of control.

"Call your boss. The badge has my ident number." Xander explained. He could feel Faith watching him. Probably cycling through a hundred different emotions. He'd have to deal with that later. "You recognize her. That's fine. She's a material witness on a case I'm working. I need her here. She's got clearance to be here. That's not common knowledge. So, make the call and get us cleared."

"I've got them covered." Gordon stated after a moment's thought. He looked at his partner. "I think maybe we should call it in."

Kate sighed and pointed her gun down, making sure she could aim it quickly if necessary. She pulled out her cell phone with one hand and called back to her precinct. Even with the late, or really early, hour it didn't take long to go through. She went through the motions of checking the man's credentials. Surprisingly enough, it checked out.

"Thanks." Kate said, not really feeling it. She was about to hang up when the captain came onto the line.

Xander watched as the disbelief, annoyance, and finally anger crossed over her face. Whoever she was talking to, certainly wasn't happy about her asking about him. Probably had something to do with them not supposed to be there.

"My captain wants to talk to you." Detective Lockley grumbled. She shoved her phone at the now identified government agent. Her weapon stayed in her hand though.

"Thanks." Xander said, taking the phone. He didn't quite relax. He couldn't really trust someone that had pulled a gun on them and seemed to be emotionally involved. Plenty of rogues out there that let their emotions get the better of them. He put the phone to his ear. "Yeah. This is Agent Harris."

Kate watched him. Annoyed. Apparently once she had put the call through, it had started a chain reaction. Which culminated in someone calling her captain when he was at home in bed and patching him in. Captain Del Vecchio had not been happy with her. And had made his annoyance at getting called up by one of the higher ups at the federal agency known to her.

"Okay." Xander said into the phone. He looked at the blonde stare at him angrily. He was tempted to smile. As fun as it might have been, it wouldn't have helped matters. And technically, he was still on the job. No time for fun and games. "No. It's quite alright. I get it all the time. I guess I don't look the part."

He looked over at Detective Ruffalo, who still had his weapon drawn. Xander covered the mouthpiece. He whispered, "You can put the gun away now."

Gordon hesitated and looked at his partner. Kate nodded at him and he put his sidearm back into its holster. Yup, he was definitely in over his head.

"It's really no problem. No, I think it shows her to be an exceptional detective." Xander looked back to Kate. She was still holding her sidearm. "Yes. Well, not many police officers are willing to go above and beyond at three thirty in the morning. No, no, that's fine. Okay."

Xander held the phone out towards Kate. "He wants to talk to you."

Kate grabbed the phone back and put it to her ear. "Yes. Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you, sir"

She closed the phone and put it back into her pocket. She placed her weapons back in its holster as well. The detective sighed and looked at the man she had been trying to arrest. Then at the young woman she had wanted to capture. Then finally again at the government agent. "Captain Del Vecchio says that we are to assist you in any way we can."

Xander smiled. Warmly, so as not to unduly annoy the police officers. They were just doing their jobs. "Thank you, Detective."

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"Buffy's coming back." Giles didn't wait for Willow to sit down before him. "Apparently Xander was in New York, and did something to her boyfriend. She's on her way here now. We're going to be picking her up in a few hours."

Willow frowned. Giles had woken her up five minutes ago and she wasn't all the way there yet. She rubbed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"The Immortal." The watcher said again. "Buffy just said that Xander did something to him. And there were slayers gone. I think they went with him."

"What? Which ones?" Willow said, waking up. She had been asleep, snuggled up close to Kennedy when Giles had knocked on her door and told her to come to his office as soon as possible. She was still in her pajamas.

"Vi. Colleen. Monet." Giles read off of his list, going over the expected ones. Willow didn't look too surprised. "And Faith."

Willow's eyes widened somewhat at that revelation. "But, they don't even like each other. Why would she go with him? Unless it has to do with Buffy. She's never liked Buffy. They must be planning something. Oooh."

"Willow. Stop." Giles put a stop to the Willow stream of consciousness ranting before it could get too far out of hand. He stood up from his chair. "We need to move fast now. Xander is acting with impunity, and he's been taking slayers with him to do so. That cannot be allowed to stand. We need to decide what to do right now."

"I haven't really had the time to…" Willow said, less than confidently.

"Willow, we don't have much time here." Giles sighed. He pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was getting a rather terrible headache. "Xander needs to be taken out of the picture. One way or another. Frankly, I would want it to be done with the minimum of pain. I'm sure you can agree to that."

Willow nodded.

"Then we need to find Riley." Giles said quietly, replacing his glasses. "And we need to find him now. Incarceration may be the only chance we have for him. It'll keep him out of the way, and maybe then we can get through to him. And Mr. Carravaggio will have to be dealt with as well. I hope that just telling him not to come back will be enough. But, we may have to see if Riley can handle that as well. Xander needs to be separated from these people that are using him. Then maybe we can reach him. Help him."

"But, Robin was saying that…" Willow broke in. It was still a rather drastic step. And if they went that way, then there was no turning back. No way to take it back. It would permanent. That much she knew.

"I know. He has his reservations, but he doesn't know Xander like we do." Giles spoke, trying to convince the young witch. He didn't want to act in such a manner himself. While Andrew had proven himself less than ideal in the positions he had been placed in, Xander was ill-suited for the work.

There was no finesse to the young man. None of the sophistication and class that were required to lead any number of slayers. And he did not have the advanced research ability that their current staff had. For an amateur, Xander was very good. Better than many. But, Giles had worked to make the Watchers' Council a professional organization. The elite. And Xander simply had no place there anymore. It was unfortunate, but for them to step up, some needed to step aside. Retirement would not be the worst thing that could have happened to the now one-eyed hunter.

He looked at Willow, his old charge. He looked her in the eyes. "Willow, I need to know what you found out."

"I tried to search for Riley on the net." Willow said explaining her methods of determining their wayward ally's location. "I couldn't find him. The government databases that track things like that were too well protected. I couldn't get through."

Giles noticed that she said that last part with some amount of chagrin. Hopefully, other methods had proven more fruitful. "But, you have more?"

Willow nodded quickly. "Yes. I was able to work a tracking spell. I found some old stuff of his that Buffy had left behind here. There was some magic protecting his location, but I was able to bypass it. He's in North Carolina. At an army base. Fort Bragg."

"If you knew all of this, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Giles looked down at Willow, disappointment clear in his eyes.

Willow couldn't meet the look. "I guess I thought we wouldn't really have to do it. I mean, that it would come to this. I wanted to see if there was another way first."

"Willow." Giles sighed. "We cannot allow our past feelings to blind our judgment. Xander has made mistakes that need rectifying. As regrettable as it may be, and I feel as badly as you do, but we need to do this. This is the only way to protect the slayers. If people are using Xander, and we can't get him away, then this is our only hope. Our first priority is to protect this world. And they are the only way that we can do this. Please, Willow. We need to do this. I can't keep asking you. So this is the last time. Can I count on you to support me?"

Willow looked up at him reluctantly. She nodded. The weight of two decades worth off friendship hanging off of it. "Okay."

"Thank you." Giles said. He took a seat. "We need to get to Riley. But first, we need to get Buffy and she can let us in on the situation. She may have knowledge of how many slayers that Xander has turned. And what he is capable of. We can decide exactly what to do then."

Willow nodded. "Okay."

Giles dismissed her and turned back to the files on his desk. He had gathered what information he had on the slayers that were with Xander. Faith included. If he had too, he would cut them loose. They couldn't be allowed to corrupt the others.

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"Damn." Rudy said to himself. He took his headphones off. The monitoring system was recording everything, and strictly speaking, it hadn't been necessary for him to listen in. But, things had started to heat up, and he wanted to have things done in real time as much as possible.

He had to report back to Lampkin. And to Xander. One Riley Finn had to be dealt with. It shouldn't be that hard. Just some pressure on the base commander to deny any requests for leave from Riley or any of his men. The only problem was the civilians that were on the old Initiative strike teams. That shouldn't be too hard though. The military was quite a stick to threaten with when it came down to it. Of course, Riley could always go AWOL.

It wasn't how he had wanted things to go down. The man hadn't spent that much time with the Council, but he had spent enough there to see how dedicated they were to the fight. They were all good people there. Even Rupert Giles. Wanting to do the good things. Even risking their own lives to do it.

Of course, it was said that the road to Hell was paved with good intentions. And the people that did the paving were the misguided ones that had the power to make things change, but not the wisdom to see what was necessary to do that. Or even what the end goal should be.

He sighed. The computer would transcribe whatever else could be gotten from the house. He didn't have to be up that late. But, it was important. Giles would find one way or another to get to them. Riley would be their most expedient method. Ironically enough, it was also the most easily tracked method.

The administrator had read through Riley's profile when he had pulled it up for Xander. The soldier had come from a fairly low-income home; raised by a single mother. Joined the military at 18. Recruited for the Initiative only a few years into his service. Of course, the reasons that he was hand selected for that assignment were not widely known. Not even to those soldiers that had been a part of the Initiative.

As much as their service records were taken into account, Walsh and the rest of the leadership of the Initiative had heavily weighed their psych profiles.

Riley hadn't been the most stellar soldier. Strictly middle of the road. That wasn't to say he wasn't smart, because he was, just not that great in the ways that a soldier needed to be intelligent. Not if he wanted to advance to be more than just one of the crowd. The man had attempted Ranger School, but had failed out, not allowed to re-start. In most cases, he would have stayed a career grunt, never advancing too far, stuck in a less than grand position.

That was until the Initiative had come calling. Walsh had determined that he made the perfect subject for the program. Part of that due to his childhood, which was unsurprising given her background. Riley's childhood, and relationship with his single parent had given him a different relationship with women than most of the others potentials in the program. When it came to female authority figures, he would tend to listen to them and follow orders, even if he had misgivings. Professor Walsh had been able to capitalize on that. He made a perfect test subject. One who wouldn't complain or think about what was going on.

Of course, that Freudian determination didn't exactly count on Buffy's influence. Though it did somewhat anticipate his reaction to her. There were other side effects to that part of Riley's psyche though. Besides helping bring down the Initiative, that influence formed from childhood had other near disastrous consequences. One of the most important of which was letting a known criminal and murderer go. Simply because his ex-girlfriend told him to.

One of the other potential consequences would be what Riley would do once Buffy and Willow were able to talk to him. Rudy had no real hopes for Riley to simply say no and walk away. Even with his wife, and four year old child, Riley would be at Buffy's side if she needed help. He would likely be willing to sacrifice his career and risk the lives of his wife and daughter to help Buffy. Loyalty to a fault. It was admirable in some ways. But, blind loyalty was not something to be desired. Not even in a soldier. Not all the time. And especially in someone that didn't anticipate the long term consequences of his actions.

If Riley hadn't been a factor, Xander may have had the time to clean things up. To convince Giles and the rest that working together was better than what they were going to attempt to do. But, if Riley tried to force their hand, Level 6 would come back hard. And that wouldn't be good for anyone standing in their way.

It was too bad that those on the top had deemed the Council security risks. And not worth the risk of alliance given the United States' other allies, and their current view of the Watchers' Council. With a little more truth, the situation could have been averted. Some information could have opened Giles and the others' eyes to the world around them. Make them aware that their actions had repercussions. Of course, given the security issues they already had with personnel such as Andrew, and the bumbling of their field slayers and even upper management, he wasn't sure that it would have been enough. They'd already been warned of their screw up in Germany. And still Giles was determined to act unilaterally. Not even attempt to contact the allies that Xander had revealed existed in countries around the world. Or to make structural changes to ensure that such mistakes were not repeated. The only lasting improvements so far had been what he and Xander could provide in terms of intelligence and training. Good leaders like Eduard in the field could only do so much when upper management was less than ideal.

And it was all simply because Giles thought that he knew the best way. It seemed he had learned from listening too much to his superiors in the old Council. When he had broken his slayer's trust. Now he listened too little. Determined to make his own way. Hungry to prove himself worthy of leading the organization that had so easily kicked him out. Certain that his experience meant that he should be the one to lead. Power was a blinding factor. Even obscuring the truth when it was laid out in front of him.

There was no easy choice. And no clear right answer. They'd have to try to find their way, and hope that whatever they did, it was the correct course. The one that would sacrifice the least, for the greatest good.

But, there were always sacrifices.

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"Uh, you can probably go now. I can find my way back." Xander said, stuffing his badge back in his pocket. He looked towards Faith, she did not seem at all amused by the situation. She wasn't talking at least. That was a good thing. Be best not to have their big verbal throwdown in front of strangers.

"I don't think so." Kate stuffed her phone back in her pocket. "I want to know what's going on."

"Hmmm. No. Your captain said to assist me in every way. I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but it's really better for everyone involved if you just go home. And forget about tonight." Xander turned his back and started for the door to the van.

"She's a slayer isn't she?" Kate called after him. She watched him stop. The detective felt some grim satisfaction at that. Though she wished she could see his face. The hours of research had paid off. Young female, extraordinary abilities, vampires, it all made sense, if one looked in the right place.

Faith couldn't hide the look of shock on her face. Though she shouldn't have been that surprised. The detective had known that Angel was a vampire after all.

Xander turned around, no emotion visible on his face. There had been a reason that the cop was out there that late at night. And the surface facts of it didn't warrant such scrutiny. That really only left the truth. Unfortunately, she'd gotten a little deeper than he would have liked. He looked her in the eyes. "That's an interesting term."

Xander glanced at the other detective. He looked rather confused. Likely not as enlightened as his partner. "Do you really want to be throwing out such terminology given our present company? Because I get the feeling you haven't exactly been completely honest about everything."

"Kate, what's he talking about?" Gordon glanced at his partner, a look of confusion planted on his face, obvious to everyone. "What's a slayer?"

Kate returned the look. "I want answers. I need to know. But, if you aren't prepared to go all the way for this, then you can go back to the car. I won't think less of you if you do."

Detective Ruffalo thought about it. It only took a moment. He shook his head. "Got to stand by partner right? Lay it on me."

Xander chuckled once. He looked at the truth-seeking detective. Been a long time since he had found anything really amusing. "If you're sure... You want me to do this? Or do you, Detective Lockley?"

"She's a slayer. As in vampire slayer." Kate stated, looking at the fugitive. "Granted with mystical powers, super strength, speed, and other abilities to hunt down and kill demons and the like. And sometimes murder humans."

Faith crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't look happy. "I don't do that anymore."

Xander walked up, breaking into the burgeoning argument. "I think I'll take it from here."

Kate nodded, looking away from the slayer. Not wanting to get too drawn into that yet. Not when there was something else going on. "Go for it."

"Okay. You got your vampires. You got your demons and you got your magic." Xander recited. "That's most of it. Basically, there's a whole underworld deal going on. Most everything supernatural and occult that you ever heard of really exists. Except leprechauns. They're myths. And, that's pretty much everything."

Gordon burst out laughing. "This is a joke right. I mean, you're all in on it right? Kate set this up, and you're just fucking with me. I bet you're even taping this."

"Fraid not detective." Xander shook his head. He looked around and found an old pipe on the ground. He picked it up and tossed it to Faith. "How about a demonstration?"

Faith nodded, and bent the thick pipe into a circle. She didn't even have to strain. The slayer smirked and tossed it to the now not amused detective.

"Jesus Christ." Gordon exclaimed as he examined the pipe. It wasn't fake. It was an old and strong steel pipe. Bent around by a pretty thin young girl. PCP might have been able to give someone enough to do it. But, if that had been the case, she would have flipped out when they had pulled their guns. "This is really real. Jesus."

"Yeah. He exists too." Xander smirked at the detective. At least he was taking it pretty well. No flipping out or disbelief to speak of.

"Now that you're done with that, I want to know what happened here." Kate said impatiently. She glared at the government agent. The whole federal versus local antagonism was only part of the annoyance she felt. Another part was that he had used that pull to keep her from a quarry that had gotten away years ago. If only after she had sent the murderer to jail. Prison break wasn't something that made her particularly happy. And, the rest of it was probably just the man's character. He seemed to find the situation disgustingly amusing. It was getting her goat but good. "Now."

Xander nodded. "Alright. You ever see the Creature from the Black Lagoon?"

"You're kidding me right?" Kate scoffed. She accepted demons and vampires. But, something from a b-movie was a bit much to take. "What was this really? Some kind of demon?"

"No. Now, I'm not talking about the actual creature from the Black Lagoon. Cause that's a movie. And that was really Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning." Xander explained. His lifetime of watching old monster movies had honed his intellect, giving him a well rounded understanding of popular culture. Hard to believe that it would come in handy. "This was something else. Visually similar."

"What some sort of prehistoric throwback then?" Detective Ruffalo put in, wanting to add something to the fascinating conversation. It was mindblowing. Though it certainly did explain his partner's tenacity. She was one of the smartest detectives he had ever known. And she wouldn't have gone around digging into things that she shouldn't if there hadn't been anything to it.

Xander turned to him. "Actually, that's a common misconception. In Time's Black Lagoon, the gill men were descended from an extraterrestrial race that landed on Earth in the Devonian period. One of their members was exposed to ancient bacteria and became all deformed, and then went insane. That's the creature that was in the original movie."

"Xander." Faith snapped at him. "He means the real creature."

"Ah. Right." Xander smiled back at her. Some levity never hurt, and could help people cope with the situation. But, evidently it could be too much at times. "Back to business. What happened here is essentially a pair of mutates. Mutated humans. In this case, genetic engineering crossing human DNA with that of various fish."

"So why where they here?" Kate asked.

"Good question." Xander had thought about it. The close access to a protected harbor was likely part of the reason. And the large warehouses offered plenty of places to hide. And in this case, build a nest. The machinery they had taken out could have been due to them wanting to protect the egg. The future of their species, given that the others were dead. "My guess. They wanted to protect their egg."

"Egg? As in more of these things?" Kate asked incredulously. "Did you kill them all?"

"Uh. No." Xander could anticipate the reaction. It didn't make it any more pleasant however. "Not quite. They're still alive."

"Why not? They were here destroying things. If you're some kind of demon hunter and she's a slayer, then why didn't you kill them?" The demand for an explanation was clear in Kate's tone of voice. She wouldn't accept levity again.

"They didn't kill anyone. In fact, they avoided attacking any humans they came across. These weren't mindless animals. Not anymore. In fact, one of them fought the other to keep him from attacking us. He killed the only other adult member of his species. That earned him some amount of leeway. So I got him out. He'll be taken care of. To see if we can change him back." Xander explained carefully. "Insurance will cover the damaged machinery and they'll never come back here again. So there really is nothing to worry about. You can leave, and not worry about this type of situation coming up. And if I'm wrong, and it does? Then I'll come back and deal with it."

"That's unacceptable." Kate stated coldly. "They can't just be let go. They committed a crime here."

"And what are you going to do?" Xander challenged her reasoning. "Fine them? Charge them with trespassing and vandalism? Property damage? Where are you going to hold the trial? Marine World?"

"Damn it. They shouldn't just be allowed to walk." Kate exclaimed. She had had enough of the vampires and other monsters of the night setting their own rules. Not being bound by the law. The only justice that they faced was at the hands of one of their own. A vampire. A vigilante. Not true justice. Human justice.

"They're not." Xander pulled out his badge and flipped it open for her to see. Technically he shouldn't have told her. But, he had authorization to exercise judgment in such matters. For certain people at least. Government employees already exposed to the truth was part of that group. Especially if they were so very determined as Detective Lockley was proving herself to be.

It would have been nice to have been able to tell the Council though. That might have been something that could have gotten them to pull their heads out of their collective asses. Unfortunately, the men at the top had seen the way of things. The unreliability of the Council. And that they needed their foreign allies more than to bring in a group of amateurs that had proven their inability to act in a professional manner. Especially since they still showed no real attempt to change. He didn't have enough pull. And neither did the good like Robin and Eduard. Without a major restructuring, they would never be brought into the fold. And, the others, the Germans most specifically, would never allow for an alliance with a group that allowed genocide, not if it was led by the same people that had failed in the first place. It didn't matter that the victims weren't human. And right now, the Germans were more important. The Council had muscle. The Germans brought unity. "Department of Homeland Security. Remember? This is a legally sanctioned operation. Nobody walks the night with impunity. Not anymore."

"Then why weren't you there when I got kicked out of LA?" Kate grit her teeth. "When they all said I was crazy for investigating these types of things."

"Not my area." Xander shook his head. "Look. This is legally sanctioned, but it isn't exactly out in the open. As I'm sure you can easily tell. So you need to keep it under your hat. The both of you."

Gordon nodded. He wasn't sure who he could tell in any case. Who would believe him?

"Why? This is validation of everything I have done." Kate said angrily. The truth. Shoved into everyone's faces would be something of value. But that wasn't why she was angry. Her father had died because of the darkness. If he had known, then he could have better protected himself. And there would be scores of innocents in the exact same position. "Why is this being kept secret? People are dying because they don't know what's out there."

"I know." Xander replied, not getting emotional in response. That wouldn't help anyone. "Trust me. I know. I've lost people too. As I can see you have. But, this can't get out. The world is not ready for such a thing."

"Why? You let this demon go here and you and your slayer just lay down the law like you get to decide what goes free and what needs to die? Who gave you the right?" Kate said, getting into his face. Forcing him to justify his existence.

"The federal government. I don't make policy. I just enforce it. With enough leeway given to me so that I can make decisions on the fly. Doesn't mean there's no one I'm forced to answer to." Xander explained. Though it wasn't the complete and utter truth. There were things that he did that even those superiors that knew him best did not know of. The deals made. The bargains struck. At this point, nobody really knew who he worked for. As he wanted it. "And you know, what you just said, that's the problem too."

"What are you talking about?" Detective Lockley shook her head. It was getting confusing. It had been simple before. Good and evil. Human and monster. Applying human laws to it muddled things up.

"These weren't demons. These were mutated humans. Humans." Xander sounded the last word out slowly. "His name is Gage. I knew him in high school. He didn't ask to be turned into some mutated fish man. But, it happened. And he chose not to kill anymore. But, you would lump him together with every monster out there prowling the streets. He's no angel. But, he's no demon either. To you, it's semantics. For the rest of us out there, it's a matter of truth. Demon. Demon implies a moral judgment, intentionally or not. To see that some species of nonhuman being is a demon, confers the meaning that it is evil. That isn't true. And you keep thinking that way, and every nonhuman just living and letting live is going to see you as an enemy. And trust me, there are way too many things out there for you to be thinking that way."

Faith wondered when Xander had started to speak so intelligently. Like an adult rather than the goofy kid she had known him as. She didn't realize of course that he had worked for a living. That he had worked in that adult world where people talked in a professional manner. It hadn't been all demons and monsters for the man. He had board rooms and meetings with men in suits that had gone to Harvard.

"Fine. So what should I call it then?" Kate was still flippant. Either not getting, or not wanting to get the distinction. It did make things easier. Sure, there were some exceptions, like Angel, but those were singular. It was quite a leap to see whole other species of creatures that lived in the shadows as not evil.

"How about Gage? That's _his_ name." Xander replied bluntly. He shook his head. "And you're still not getting it. These demons and monsters. They existed on Earth long before humanity did. Take the hellhound. They share 95 of their DNA with dogs. Should we consider dogs to be demons as well? And therefore evil?"

"What are you saying?" Gordon asked. "You say she's a vampire slayer, and that's okay, but that they aren't necessarily evil?"

"Statistically speaking, vampires are pretty much all evil." Xander looked toward the cop; he was asking good questions. There was hope for him yet. "That's not profiling, it's a matter of record. Vampires are genetically near identical to regular humans. That said, psychologically they're wired like sociopaths. They are innately self-centered beings. The law and morality does not concern them when it comes to what they want. There are some exceptions, as exist in any group. But, that does not make a stake first and ask questions later approach the same as stopping more blacks than whites over for routine traffic stops because the statistics say that the proportion of criminals is higher in the black population over the white one. Vampires are not wired like humans. And Kwaini are not wired like vampires. This isn't race. This is species."

Xander's throat was getting parched. He'd done a lot of talking. And he had been up all day, the day before. "Look. If you both want to stay in this thing, then you are going to have to figure out the differences. There aren't just demons, a homogenous group, out there. There are vampires. And Fyarl. And Skilosh. And Prio Motus. And Brachen. Most of those are violent. What any rational person would consider pure evil. But, not all. And those good people, yes people, in each population can vary in ratio with the evil ones. This isn't a total war for humanity. It's the justice system. Blind. Equal. And fair, no matter what they look like. That is what you should be concerned about. Not if it's a demon or a human or black or hispanic."

It was the truth. For a cop. For Xander, it mattered very little. He may have the word of law. But, he knew better than most that he was an executioner. Making it legal didn't make it right. He was the dirty little secret that nobody liked to talk about. That did just as much evil as any monster. In the name of security. Not justice.

And that was a truth too. His own.

"Okay." Xander said. "Look. I'm dog tired right now. And I want to go home. So, this is where we part ways. However, before I go, we need to set some ground rules."

He stared at Kate and then Gordon. They could see the seriousness in his eye. They looked at each other and then nodded at the man.

"Good. First, nobody talks about this, or me. In fact, you never met me. I don't exist. You don't know what I look like. You don't know where one escaped fugitive Faith Lehane is. This, this thing never happened." Xander stated, being as clear as possible. "But, you're cops. You are out here on the streets, protecting people. Dealing justice. And that means that sooner or latter, people like you might get caught up into something serious. Something more than natural that you might not think you can handle safely."

Kate nodded reluctantly at that.

Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He took out a pen and wrote a number on it. He passed it over to the detective. "This is a private cell number. If you, either of you, at any time, find yourselves in over your head then call me. If you find yourself butting up against authority that is holding you from saving the goddamn world, then call me. If you need to talk to someone because the secrecy of the real world is driving you crazy, then call me. Call me, and I'll come. There aren't enough of us out there, and we need all the ones we can get."

He pressed it into her hand, and squeezed. Xander looked into her eyes and could see that she was something of a kindred spirit. Not as far gone as him, but she had been close. There was hope for her yet. Back on the other end of the road. "This is what I do. This is what Faith does, despite her past. It takes all kinds. Not all of us can be heroes."

"You got that right." Kate took the number and slipped it into her pocket. "What did you used to be? Before this?"

"I used to drive an ice cream truck." Xander smiled, wanting to lift some of the tension.

Detective Lockley looked at him strangely. She wondered if he was telling the truth. She could usually spot liars, but he actually seemed like he was telling the truth. Which was absurd. "So what happens now?"

"Nothing." Xander shrugged. "You have your truth. This case is solved without any casualties. And the world keeps on spinning. This is a good day detective. Enjoy it."

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Author's Note: I was thinking of another segment where Faith talks to Xander about what just happened, but this felt like a good place to end. Maybe in another section or in a flashback or something.

As for Buffy, she's still going through it so she hasn't had time to think about what happened and what she should be learning. Willow is still on the fence. She's working with Giles, but face to face, things could change.


	54. Chapter Fifty Three

**Chapter 53: Boardroom**

"So who are you?" Faith turned around and looked at Xander. Her voice was sharp. She wouldn't truck with any nonsense. Not anymore. The truth had come out. And the truth was dangerous. The warnings about the Initiative from Giles had not been unheard. And were not invalid. Coupled with that was the fact that she was a wanted fugitive too. A fugitive from the very government that the man in front of her now worked for.

However, he had talked their way out of it. Revealing his identity. Kept her from having to do something horrible. Or be forced back to prison. That earned him something. The slayer just didn't know what.

Xander didn't respond. He looked to his right. Vi was asleep in the next seat over, despite the short jet ride. She was slumped over the leather plane seat, her head resting on his shoulder and her arm across his stomach. He reached over and brushed a lock of hair away from her face. It was a bit longer than in Sunnydale, but not enough to prove a tactical disadvantage. Besides, it wasn't like he was sporting a high and tight. She moaned a bit and clutched at him more tightly, still asleep. "Speak softly."

"You're not some mercenary are you? Not even for them." Faith whispered, she wasn't exactly calm, but she tried to control herself. She did try not to wake up the other slayer. "How much of the truth did you even tell us?"

"More than you might think." Xander looked up at her. He wasn't particularly surprised. Though she seemed to be taking it rather well. Much better than he had previously anticipated. Small comfort if it came down to blows. Probably wouldn't though. She was supposed to have learned enough by now not to. "I was planning on telling you. Eventually. But, not like this."

"What is this even about? Who you said you worked for? It was all a lie. Wasn't it. Why?" Faith looked pissed. Still under control though. It was a question of how long that would last. Which depended on what Xander decided to say. And whether she would believe him.

"I lie to just about everyone. So don't feel too slighted." Xander replied calmly. "I said I worked for people that wanted to stay out of the limelight. People of money. And influence. And high motivations. Uncle Sam and his brothers and sisterse in Congress have a vested interest in our dirty little war not spilling out onto the streets. The Council, in all its glory, has been determined to be something of a threat, not directly, but more to their or our interests. Not a high one so far, but that could change. If they decide that efficiency is called for. Trust me, it could have gone down in a very very different way."

"Why?" Faith asked. "Why come back. And why feed us some line? You could have told us the truth."

Xander scoffed at that, without moving though, as to not disturb his girlfriend. He looked her in the eyes. "Is that what you think? Is that what you really think? Do you honestly believe that if I came back saying I was working for the feds, that Giles would have bothered even listening to me half as much as he did? Or do you think he would have booted me out on my ass?"

Faith looked away. He was right. Giles may have been many things. Many good things, but he would more than likely have turned on Xander if the truth had come out then. That protectiveness of the slayers was strong in the watcher. It was strong in her as well. A contradiction that it could lead them to such separate places. At the very least, she was willing to listen. He'd earned that much. He should have earned that with the watcher as well. "Then why'd you come back?"

"Weren't you paying attention?" Xander looked at her strangely. "I thought I explained this all already. Your fellow slayers screwed up. Badly. Dep C is still looking for you; which made and makes our government less than satisfied with the status quo. I'm covering the best I can. But, you guys aren't making it any easier. And trust me, we need them a lot more than we need you. And they are much more willing to cut you loose."

"Giles told us about the Initiative. How they shut down." Faith threw back. "Why would they be so concerned with us now? If they already knew about us before this happened."

"Look at the state of the world." He took a breath. He felt a rant coming down. Though he had more authority to choose how things went down than most government employees, he still had his own frustrations with policy. But, the field agent, emphasis on field, chose only that which most suited the purpose. For the conversation. What the slayer needed to here. Not all he felt. "A few years ago a couple of humans crashed some planes into a couple of buildings. Now we got Gitmo and guys in Afghanistan and Iraq. Dying. The people are scared. They are scared and they are lashing out. That's how we have a public that ended up buying into this war, and eroding civil rights in the name of security. And they ask why. At the top they understand what the reason is. Or at least, they think they do. Enough for them to use security and counter terrorism as an excuse to serve their own interests. You think we'd be pulling this shit if there wasn't oil in Iraq? Fuck, they have about 10 percent of the world's supply. I don't call the shots. I am not the one in charge. I work the street. I am not strategy. I am operations. When there is a need for my services, my highly specific set of skills, I am called in. Sometimes that means retiring a high level operative on the other side before he can pull off some terrorist attack. Human or demon. Sometimes that means taking out a someone that threatens the US trade policy. Someone who isn't currently in favor with our government. Sometimes for the right reasons. Sometimes cause it comes down to the almighty dollar. Luckily, I can pick my fights. Mostly. Which allows me the option to only go after people that deserve at least some of what I give 'em. Not always the case though."

Faith didn't say anything. Xander, of all people, the same boy she had used for a night's fun and thrown out, had just admitted to political assassination. For less than even what might approach noble intentions.

He noticed the look. "You act shocked. Does this surprise you? Does this somehow change what you thought of me? That it is not the grand battle between good and evil that I fight? That you're now a part of? You shouldn't be. This is the history of mankind."

"Then why help them?" Faith said at last. Trying to find a way through Xander's obvious, though suppressed, anguish. "If you aren't with them, and you don't want to. Then why work for them?"

"They understand quite a bit. They understand that it is in their best interest to expend lives to make their fortunes." Xander replied. "You don't think they understand you? Demons and monsters? That's nothing. Sure, they're scared too. They are very very scared. But, they understand, according to their Ivy League MBA frame of reference. What they see are assets. That they can use, if they can get you under control. Do you believe, for one second that they wouldn't just come in and destroy you all? If it came down to it? If they were that scared? There's a reason I'm attached to Homeland. Terrorism. Domestic terrorism. That's the threat they categorize you under. Because it suits their purpose to be able to ship you out to Gitmo. Or enough of you to make sure that the rest of you do whatever it is that they want you to do. You think that those angels and glowing beings floating around, pulling Angel's strings are the Powers That Be? Some type of All-mighty savior for humanity? Looking out for us all? They aren't. The Powers That Be are self-interested men in suits in smoke filled rooms that decide the fate of humanity over brandy. They're the ones you've always been working for. Whether they were in London or in DC. It's all the same."

"Why?" Faith asked. They hadn't operated that openly, despite them being discovered in Germany. International operations weren't their usual missions. After they'd established themselves in Cleveland, they'd mostly done stuff solely in the US. Only going abroad when there was something specific to go after. It had been low key. Or at least, they had thought it had been. "If they're that unstable, then why work with them? It's clear you don't trust them. Why even try it?"

"Because there is a group of people out there. Rational thinkers. And they represent the best shot we all have at making it through this thing. It's not all oil interests and greed." Xander had questioned himself in the beginning. Of why he should get in bed with them. Unlike the government affiliated agencies that dealt with the supernatural in other countries, Level 6 was not apolitical. Too new. It was not free to act according to its own beliefs. He was working on getting it to be that way, but it would take some time. And much effort. "That's why I work with them. Because I can frame whatever trickles down into my own version of reality. So that they think that they're getting the better deal. So that eventually, I can buy you a longer leash."

She bristled at that comment. She wanted to shout, but she kept it quiet. She saw the other eyes on her. Not all of the slayers were asleep. They likely heard, but seemed to have heard it all before. "Why should you get to decide for us? What makes you so smart? What makes you the one that should get to decide?"

"You judging me for that?" Xander got into her face. To match her obvious reaction, as much as she tried to suppress it. Still not moving his body. "What gives you the right to judge me? You wanted me to leave you back there? Facing how much on your stint? Tack on another five to ten for escape. Trust me. The time you did isn't anything compared to what you'd get in some Agency secret prison. You ever see Midnight Express? Turkish prisons aren't exactly the Hilton. The shit they could pull against you, all that, you won't stand a chance. The thousand or so slayers you got. The handful of witches and wizards? A couple of watchers? You think that's enough?"

"Then what, we should quit?" Faith retorted. "If that's what we're fighting for then why the hell should we?"

"Because the president and company do not represent all of the United States. They do not represent all of the world. You fight for the Throne. But, that doesn't make it why you fight." Xander switched back to the calmer tone he had used before. "There are good people out there. Don't judge them too harshly. They're just afraid. You telling me that you've never been afraid? You going to try to sell me that?"

Faith couldn't tell him that she hadn't been.

"I need to keep things together until they can settle down some." Xander didn't wait for the reply that wouldn't come. "It's the only way."

"I have a name. I have a reputation." Xander smiled at her. "Partly a lie. More importantly, the stuff that's true about me, that part, that part scares them even more. I'm the man that shouted at the mountain, and _the_ mountain trembled. It's better for them to work with me, than to try to remove me from the board. So they tolerate your existence. At my behest. As long as I keep you in line. And that makes it worthwhile to keep me around. Cause if I'm that scary to my allies, then what's that make me to enemies?"

"How'd you do that?" Faith questioned. She'd seem him. He was good. Had to give him that. But, he didn't actually do that much. Not by himself.

"You don't want to know." Xander rubbed his face. Nobody got to his place in the mix clean. And given his lack of abilities, he'd had to do things that much messier. "The CIA has a list of names. You're on it. Everyone in that house is on it. The slayers in Europe are on it. This is what they do. Recent intelligence failings aside, street level, the spooks at Langley are some of the best. They'd lose people taking you in, and so would you. In the end, they'd still get the job done. Cause they have the money and the resources to do it. You got what, Willow's magic? That only goes so far, and frankly, she doesn't have the power to take on a whole goddamn country. Not to mention whatever other countries would want in on some free agent slayers."

"So how'd they really get to you?" Faith took a breath. She didn't like the idea that their movements were being tracked. Though it should have been obvious. Especially considering how fast he had come back when the trouble had gone down in Germany. "If you managed to have a hold over them?"

"However they could. I figure, the balance is about level. I owe favors, but I'm owed enough to carry us through. I think." Xander admitted. He wasn't perfect. Far from it, but his willingness to go farther made up for it. Most of the way at least. "Besides, state of the world, we can't split forces and start in-fighting. Not now. Not anymore. I can't keep protecting you. All these things on your end are just going to make them want to take you in. Salvage what they can. Scuttle the rest. Cause the world, and our other allies are more important. Money means nothing if the world ain't around to spend it in. That is one truth that they can agree on. And they are making their backroom deals to get it done. And you do not want to be a bargaining chip when that goes down."

"What do you mean?" Faith wondered what else Xander was working on. Or might be working on, since she had no idea what else he could be planning. He'd had a long time on his lonesome. Enough to get up to who know's what.

"This thing that's coming? It's world wide. Global. I'm not talking about saving the world. I'm talking about targets everywhere. Areas of interest. You think everything's in the United States? The world does not revolve around us." Xander chuckled softly. "Lemuria. Lemuria's off the coast of India. That mean's that we're likely going to see some Indian navy for any action on that front. Which means that the US and my superiors need to keep a leash on international affairs, including what you and yours get up to. To keep our relations in the free and clear. And baby, you are not making it easy on me."

Faith eyes widened at the global aspect. That it wasn't all on them. That they had allies that they relied upon. Could trust. Somewhat at least. Or at least, willing to trust enough to buy. It seemed contradictory. That Xander would be so unwilling to trust his own government, but willing to trust that of others. Still he had told them that some of those groups that did what they did didn't answer to governments. As opposed to whatever it was that Xander worked for. It would explain some things.

Xander didn't say anything. Let her work through it herself.

"Why?" Faith asked. The same question. Asked multiple times. All drawing different reasons. All of them true. "If we're all such screwups, then why try to help? And if they're all a bunch of greedy pricks why work for them? If we're not worth any of this then why do this? Why not go to whatever other allies you have? Or why not just take what you want and use them? Use us?"

"Because." Xander said. He glanced down at his still sleeping lover. He stroked her cheek.

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He was looking at the ceiling. The weight on his chest comfortable. Only about four hours of sleep. He didn't really need anymore, even with the hard night's work. It was said that Issac Newton only needed thirty minutes of sleep a night. He wasn't that good. Still, he could work for more than 24 hours straight. And still react with enough speed and accuracy for it not to be significant. Nobody questioned it. Nobody even noticed. Back home, in Sunnydale, they hadn't questioned why. Why he was able to stay up at night, all night, and still be able to handle board meetings with his bosses. Impromptu get-togethers with his construction crew. Any of a million things that could go wrong on a work site. How he could pull 12 hour days and still fight the night.

Didn't mean he didn't feel it though. He had come down. Crashed. Hard. Slept like the dead for those four hours. Awake though. After. At noon, or thereabouts. Like a switch. Off and then on.

Xander looked at the young woman currently curled at his side. One leg thrown possessively over his lower body. An arm across his body, her head lying on his naked chest. Her red hair splayed out a bit. She had a slight smile on her face. Content in sleep. He envied her that.

She moved against him. Rubbing herself against his body.

He moaned quietly in response. She could bring that out of him. Like no other. He continued looking down at her. He smiled at the young slayer, the one that he kept just for her. "You awake?"

"No." Vi kept her eyes shut. She moved up and straddled him, opening her eyes and looking at him intently. Wondering why she had been chosen over any other. And there had been others that had wanted him.

Xander chuckled. "Really?"

"Yup." Vi bent down and kissed him.

He kissed her back, then sat up. Xander pulled her shirt off over her head, breaking the kiss for the shortest time possible. He ran a hand over the smooth pale skin of her stomach.

She drew a breath. Bent down again to kiss him, feeling his bare chest against her skin. The warmth of it.

The cell phone on the nightstand rang.

"Shit." Xander looked at the phone, not wanting to answer it. Knowing he had to.

He reached over and grabbed it, keeping Vi on his lap. One hand playing across the taut skin of her back. She arched into him, pressing against him with more force. "Xander. What do you need?"

"We need you to come to the office. Mission briefing." The voice over the phone stated. "Plane's already been informed. Four o'clock."

"Understood." Xander hung up. "I don't have to get there till four."

Vi smiled. "Plenty of time."

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"You look happy." Cindy watched her team lead take a seat next to her at the conference table. It had been a few days since he had been back to the office. Of course, given the life he led, it wasn't anything to be concerned about.

"Don't act so surprised." Xander replied. He opened the file in front of him. He'd had skimmed it on the plane ride over, but there hadn't been that much time. "I have my days."

"He looks like he just got…." Jack started to stay. He was silenced by Abby's swift elbow into the gut.

"So, how is everything?" Cindy asked, not having to spell things out.

Xander looked at the witch. Her big sister routine. He may be in command, but nobody was under any delusions as to who called the shots when it came to his personal life. Strangely enough, it wasn't unwelcome. "She keeps a toothbrush in my bathroom now."

"Hmm." Abby added from across the table. "You don't say."

"Alright. That's enough out of the two of you." Xander said good-naturedly.

Curtis just looked at him, not having to say anything. Happy for his commander though. He got busy with his own papers as their boss walked into the room.

Taylor turned on the projector, starting up the slideshow that contained the key points of their latest intelligence briefing. "Okay. Paul's on assignment already, so let's get started. This is what we have so far."

Xander and the others looked up, paying attention. He took out a pen, ready to take notes.

"Based off of what McNally gave us, we had the Peruvians check the site he listed." Lampkin used a laser pointed to highlight the designated area on a map. "Unfortunately for us, there was nothing there. They locked the site down, but I don't think we're going to see much yet. The bad news is that whatever was there, looks to have gotten out. Good news, we've talked to some of the other groups, there's a pretty large force deployed there now. A magical dampening field is preventing any other portals from being opened. So for now, we mainly need to worry about what came out already."

He flicked to the next slide. "Okay. For what's not in the case file. The recovered artifacts have already been catalogued, so they've all been destroyed. Barring the crystal. That's being kept in the Vault until we can find a safe method of disposal. It's a target though."

"That's right." Cindy confirmed. "Despite the shielding I could put on, we're still seeing traceability. It's not in the open, but it isn't hidden either. We're going to see trouble on that front."

"We have any idea what came through?" Xander thought about that fight. He didn't know where the crystal was, but it probably wouldn't be a good place to fight off an army. As if there was one.

"Not yet. The archive guys in Peru are working on a profile of what type of forces we might be facing." Taylor replied. "However, according to the research so far, South America was home to quite a few of the Old Ones. They're trying to match it by area of operation, but it's been slow going so far. Sekhmet isn't using of her own armies, which may mean that they're gone. She's branched out. Cindy, the local contact is one Johnny Marsden. His contact info is in the file. I want you to link up and provide any help you can give."

Cindy nodded, looking through and finding the profile and phone number for her Peruvian counterpart. Surprisingly, he was an American. Berkeley raised, so there was a touch of the familiar.

"Next." Taylor clicked over to the next slide. It had an area of the Indian Ocean highlighted. "The Indians have sent two Bangaram class patrol craft and the INS Sagardhwani to look for the location of Lemuria. Xander, I want you to help coordinate the search. Since you're apparently the only one that's been there. The local contact is one Captain Raj Singh. They'll be sending you deep SONAR imaging of their searches. See if you can identify anything from what you remember."

Xander nodded. The others chuckled. It wasn't that they didn't believe him. Since they all did. It was just that it was so ridiculous. One of the seven cities of Heaven on Earth. Course, that was what it meant to have faith in your people. "How many are in?"

"Captain Singh. And he has a group of MARCOS in the know on board. That's it. The Indians' don't have that large a presence militarily speaking." Lampkin said. It was an important question. Who could be dealt with on an equal footing. And who the truth had to be shaded slightly for.

"Okay." Xander noted down on his report who exactly he might need to contact.

"Lemuria. The legends say that it was one of the most advanced of the ancient city states." Lampkin showed the next slide. Digital pictures taken of illustrations from some of their archived texts on mythological cities. "Legend has it that their thinking machines rivaled that of the greatest human minds. That ties in with what we got from the laptop recovered in New York City. Fallon is having a tech team work on what data is available. Xander, do we have anything from the Council?"

"Uh. Not from what they've told me." Xander shook his head. "Rudy's taps says that Willow worked on it, but they haven't gotten very far. Quantum mechanics isn't really her specialty. It wasn't given that high of a priority, and she wasn't working it too hard in the first place. They were working on the other aspects of it. And she had her other duties to the Council. And me, I guess. That's partly my fault. But, the situation now is that we can't rely on them. And we can't try to bring them in on anything on a research basis."

"Right." Taylor replied. It wasn't completely unexpected. He would rather have not relied on outsiders in the first place. As it was, he really hadn't. "I wasn't doing that in the first place. Fallon's team is working it, but without anything actual from on site, we may not be able to figure out anything useful. Then again, I'm hoping it's not necessary. If we can identify whatever is left to be assembled then we might be able to destroy enough pieces to prevent the plan from succeeding. If that hasn't been already accomplished already."

"There's still that army though." Xander interjected.

Lampkin looked at him and nodded. "That is true. And there could be more on the way. That's why we need to find whatever is on this shopping list. We need to take them out at the source. Xander, I want you to see if you can get in touch with any of the Sisters. If soldiers are being sent against us, and the method of transport stays the same, then mystical tracking may be possible."

"I'll see what I can do." Xander wrote that down as well. They had been more allies of word than of action. Still, for large scale magical matters, they provided more than adequate services. Cindy was more effective on the tactical level anyway.

Lampkin waited until they had finished up on what they had to do. "Okay. That's pretty much it."

The gathered personnel got their stuff together and started to leave. Lampkin waited for the others to go before pulling Xander back in.

"What's up, sir?" Xander wasn't really surprised that Taylor might have some issues or questions regarding him.

"Well, first of all, Dr. Farmiga says that Dana wants to see you." Taylor shut the door to the conference room, leaving them in private. "She's doing better."

Xander nodded. "That's good. I'm glad it's working. But, I get the feeling that's not what you wanted to talk to me about."

"Well, Budget's been asking about your travel expenses." Lampkin didn't want to broach the main issue yet. He sat down.

"The commute between Cleveland and New York isn't that short. Especially when I have to use the jet." Xander shrugged and sat down as well.

"Which explains why you're running such a large expense." The assistant director didn't look amused. "Not what you're going to do about it."

"Okay." Xander breathed out. "I'll try to cut back on the side trips."

"Good." Taylor nodded. "And there's the issue of the security details you requested on the families."

"They could be targets." Xander said, using the same explanation that he had used when he'd made the original request.

"Yes, the slayers families could be targets." Taylor confirmed. "And we didn't really have a problem with your request to put a team on Vi's family. But, the more of the slayers' real families you find, the more it costs. And this wasn't in our original forecast."

"I'll try to smooth it out with Accounting okay?" Xander knew this wasn't the real issue. It was just to get him to accept the issues that the agency was still facing. And to get him to react to what they wanted him to. Though, he didn't particularly look forward to having to submit a revised departmental AOP.

"That's fine." Taylor said, knowing he'd have to bring up the main problem next.

"I'll see about getting a revision on our current expense budget." Xander leaned in. "Now what's the real concern here."

"This isn't working. You can't just play it fast and loose with the Council, hoping that your man starts getting a clue." Lampkin breathed out. Frustrated from the sounds of it.

"Maybe if I could tell them the truth. Now, it might make a difference." Xander tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. He had understood the operational need for secrecy. But, they should have reached a point where it wasn't so tightly restricted. Especially since they were going more public with their international allies. A security leak with the Council wouldn't be the only place to obtain information about the American organization. Though, they could have supplied more personal information than their allies could have or would have. "You gave me authorization for Faith."

"That was a special case." Taylor replied. It wasn't a completely new argument. "The director's given you one last chance. This thing with Finn? That's your last shot. You may need to go down to his post."

"Uh, what about our current assignment?" Xander asked. Confronting Finn on his home turf wasn't particularly smart. But, it may be better than the consequences of meeting in a less than controlled situation.

"Just keep close to a linkup. You'll have secure access so you can pull anything that the Indians give us off the database." Lampkin hoped it wouldn't be an issue. Putting double work on the kid. But, he'd done it before, so the assistant director wasn't concerned that Xander couldn't handle his work load.

"Okay." Xander said. They'd really though of everything.

"Look, you can't make it work, then we're cutting them loose." Lampkin said, more calmly. Not the direct boss anymore, but a man that cared. "They don't get our protection."

"No compromises?" Xander was concerned. He'd thought he'd had more time. And more room to maneuver.

Lampkin hesitated. "We haven't been able to crack the monitoring issue. Without 100 coverage, or someone on the inside helping make policy, then the decision will be to bring them in hard. Faith isn't going to cut it. Psych says that Giles no longer gives equal weight to slayer input. We need full leadership or advisory positions. That means Robin or at the very least, one of the more senior watchers. Or Andrew. He's not working with the slayers anymore, but he's got Giles' ear. Wormed his way back in so to speak."

"So what you're saying…" Xander tried to get out.

"One or another, they'll do what we want them to do." Taylor didn't like it, but those were his orders. And he didn't completely disagree. For different reasons than the boss of his boss however. "Dep C is asking for our progress. Without a guarantee, the uppers might want to give someone up. Xander, for their sake, make it work."

Xander just nodded.

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He looked at from across the room. She seemed better. Even looked at him as if she was seeing him and not some hallucination or random slayer memory. It was something.

The walk down had been somewhat calming. And had allowed him to clear his head. Things were coming to a head. If he didn't set things on their proper path soon, there wouldn't be a next time. They didn't all get another chance. And, he'd had more than his fair share of second chances already.

Xander took a seat. He'd brought a chair in, not knowing exactly what to expect. Dr. Farmiga hadn't given him that much anyway. Apparently the patient was more cogent than ever. Hardly healed, but the Mohra blood had helped straighten a few mental pathways. Gave the slayer a better sense of herself and the world around her. Maybe even patched up a little of that pain that had consumed her life, the pain that multiplied when she had been activated.

The slightly less demented than usual slayer that was watching him sit down, didn't react. She still had enough muscle relaxant in her to keep her from being dangerous, so he wasn't too worried. Didn't let his guard down, but wasn't too concerned.

"How are you doing?" Xander noticed that she seemed to understand, but didn't react to that either.

He'd have to come up with something big if he wanted to show them that they needed to rectify but fast. If he were smarter, he'd have though of a way by now. As it was, he was doing it by the seat of his pants. Not ideal.

Dana took a seat on the bed. She wasn't in a strait jacket anymore. Small comfort, given her room, no matter how much it had been decorated to seem less like the asylum it really was. At least it wasn't as bad as her last one. She remembered the man that sat in front of her. "Xander."

He smiled. "That's right."

She didn't respond. Just sat there, looking at him.

"It's okay." He kept smiling, and leaned back some in his chair. Settling in. "You don't have to talk. We can just sit right here for a while."


	55. Chapter Fifty Four

**Chapter 54: The First Time**

"So, what you're saying is that Xander took a number of slayers and other unidentified people, kidnapped you boyfriend, and then had Vi beat you up?" Giles sighed and sat down behind his office desk.

"Well, basically. Okay, maybe I attacked first, but still." Buffy tried not to fidget in her chair. She'd had some time to think on the short flight over. Trying to remember everything that had happened. Given the speed, it was hard to remember the exact details. Some things stood out though. "I mean, he had some badge thingie and he said he was the Law."

"A badge?" Willow asked. She had let Buffy rant on about what had happened, withdrawn into her own thoughts about what they were supposed to be planning on doing. She had second thoughts. Some of the things that head-Xander had told her still rung in her ears. Giles had valid points, but she couldn't help but think it was the wrong thing to do. It was some kind of betrayal. No matter what the reason were.

"Yeah." Buffy nodded. "The Immortal even seemed to know what it was. I don't know what Xander is playing at but…"

"Can you identify it?" Giles interjected. That bit of information had certainly piqued his interest. And uncomfortably telling in all its vagueness. Clearly Xander knew much more about the Immortal than any of them. Andrew, despite the time spent with him, had not been able identify what the man was. If he was a man at all.

Robin had said that Xander had told him some things. Though, not that much either. Enough to know that the Immortal hadn't been completely clean. Still, Xander should have gone through them. If the Immortal had been some kind of criminal, the slayers, and the Council should have taken care of it. Xander may have been playing on the right side. But, he was breaking all the rules.

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe if I saw it again. I wasn't really worrying about that at the time."

"The allies that he says that he has. The things that he's done. He has no respect for anything or anyone anymore. The traditions that we have tried to build." Giles said, speaking more to himself than any of the others. Trying to convince himself.

Alone. In the dark. No slayers. No watchers. He had allowed himself to indulge in his second thoughts. But, he had more than himself and his past relationships to think about. He had hundreds, thousands, millions, and billions to worry about. Family some. Allies others. The rest, the innocent. "We can't let this go on."

"I told you before, and I'm telling you now, I don't think this is a smart move for us." Robin stated, from his place in the corner. "Xander being tight lipped isn't exactly a surprise. I mean, given what's happened."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked, looking towards the other watcher in the room.

"There was some kind of leak. And we got captured." Robin said, thinking about what had happened in Mexico. Mostly thinking about what happened to Faith. He did find it rather foreboding that the head Slayer was not there in the room with them. "We still don't know exactly what happened. And you never really got around to fully clearing Andrew. Not to either Xander or my satisfaction. You say he's keeping secrets, playing cowboy, but given all that's happened are you so sure he's wrong to do it?"

"We've been over this before." Giles sighed, looking towards his second in command. He didn't want to argue the point. For fear of giving in himself. "He's been moving too independently. And his loyalties obviously lie elsewhere. Are you so anxious to allow him to gain influence on the slayers?"

"All I know, is that he's never led us down in the past. Even when _you_ decided that he could best serve away from things." Robin returned the gaze, not backing down. "I'm telling you, this is a dangerous thing. Even if Xander is beholden to someone else, I would think there'd be a legitimate reason. Hasn't he earned that much?"

"How can you say that?" Buffy exclaimed. "Did you hear what Giles just said? Xander wouldn't do those things. There's obviously someone that's doing something to him."

"What, do you mean's he's possessed or something?" Robin asked incredulously. Nigh on ludicrous.

"No." Buffy shook her head. "I'd be able to tell. It's him, but there's something else."

"Why are you so concerned now?" Robin said. "You haven't been here for a long time. And haven't seen Xander all that much, so how can you be so sure? Maybe this is who he really is? He's been alone for quite a while. That kind of thing can change a person."

"He was still Xander. He said that I had to make a choice. About what to do with my life." Buffy said trying to calm down. It wouldn't help getting overly emotional. She looked at Giles, only partly for reassurance. "And he was right. I did try to walk away from my responsibilities and I'm not going to do that anymore. Xander's a threat, and we need to take care of it. Now."

"Is a threat?" Robin asked. He didn't exactly trust her insight. Not given what was true about the last couple of her boyfriends. And given the nearly political nature of the Council leadership nowadays, she didn't have enough experience there. It reminded him of trying to run a school. Wading between the teachers, the school board, PTA, and all the rest. Hard to imagine that it would be something he missed now. "We so sure he is, at least to us, if we don't go after him? From what you've been saying, the Immortal's one of the bad guys according to Xander. And your boyfriend didn't exactly deny it. So why exactly are we all supposed to be against him again? Because, right now, I'd say he has a better handle on things than you do. Considering I don't recall Xander dating him."

"Look." Buffy got up and looked up at Robin straight into his eyes. "Xander may have been right about my **ex-**boyfriend, but that doesn't mean he should have just gone in doing what he did. He shouldn't just be using the slayers whenever he feels like it."

"Buffy's right, Robin." Giles said, backing up the slayer. His slayer. "We cannot allow him to simply use the Council as his personal army."

"No." Robin drawled. It was mean-spirited. He couldn't deny that. "That's your job."

"Robin." Willow broke in, rather shocked at the watcher's tone.

"I'm just saying that you're all gung-ho on going after him." Robin said, only slightly apologetic. "I haven't seen any proof so far. Yeah, he's got allies he hasn't talked about. And he has a tendency to do things on his own."

"So why are you defending him?" Giles broke in. Wondering what side Robin was really on.

"I'm not." Robin replied. "I don't really like him. And I don't like his methods. But, I can't argue with his results. He gets the job done, which is more than I can say for what we've been doing. We've been patrolling Cleveland. Okay. Put down some demon attacks. Then messed up in Germany. We get some calls and kill a few vampires and demons. As far as I can tell, Xander's been doing more with his group than all of us put together."

"It takes time to rebuild an organization such as the Council." Giles tried to defend himself. And the Watchers' Council. "Especially with all the refinements that we needed to make. You are right. We do have a need for secrecy. And right now, Xander is not contributing to it. Buffy is right, we need to act."

Robin looked at the three of them. They had a bond that had been formed in Sunnydale. Blood shed and blood spilled. They went back. Back to the beginning. It would be something he could never be a part of. "You have your gang back together. Your slayer. Your witch. You're not even listening anymore. Faith was right."

He left the office. He never looked back.

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Curtis…

Xander looked at the house in front of him. Then at the piece of paper in his hand. The address matched. It didn't exactly look like what a federal agent that had served a decade in the FBI would own. Still, looks could be deceiving. He walked up the steps, putting the scrap of paper back into his pocket.

He knocked on the door and waited for a reply. In the meantime, Xander looked down at his clothes. Not exactly impressive, but the suit served its purpose. At least he hoped that the man inside wouldn't think him overly odd. Or overly suspicious.

A woman answered the door. An attractive black woman in her mid to late thirties. She looked at the man in front of her door suspiciously. He didn't look like a cop. Not with the eye patch. And didn't look like some kind of reporter or anything. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I'd like to see Curtis Myers. If that's alright?" Xander said, as friendly as he could. He tried to smile, but didn't think it would help matters. And he couldn't quite get it up; like he didn't really remember how a real one was supposed to go. "There's information about, well, the local troubles that he might want to know about. I need his help. And I think he may need mine."

"Are you some kind of reporter?" The woman, likely Myer's wife, said. Hardly won over by Xander's charming personality.

"No." Xander replied, not offended in the least. "It's important. And I think that he might want to hear about this. I promise, I won't bother you again if he turns me away. I just need a minute. Please."

The woman looked at him for a long moment. Then sighed. "Alright. Wait here."

The door closed in his face. Not slammed, which was something at least.

It was a few minutes later before the door opened again. Likely some kind of discussion had gone on.

"Special Agent Curtis Myers?" Xander questioned. The man in front of him wasn't exactly what he was expecting. Not that he had a clear idea of what to expect. Being the laughing stock of the department likely hadn't been all that fun. The multiple days' growth of beard. The messy hair. The FBI agent probably hadn't had a good time of his less than voluntary vacation.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Agent Myers asked. The exhalation sent a wind of alcohol into Xander's face.

Xander tried not to react. He recognized the smell. Whiskey. Amongst other hard types. Grown up with it, in fact. "My name's Jack. It's come to my attention that you have said that you've encountered something. Something unexplainable. I need your help."

"What are you talking about?" Curtis said, wondering what the man really wanted. He wasn't the first one that had come to his door. But, there was something in the man's eye, his single eye, that spoke of something. Truth. Honesty. It was the only reason the door was still open.

"You saw something. Yellow eyes, that nearly glowed. Fangs. Caveman brow." Xander said, making sure to keep all emotion out of his voice. "That sound about right?"

"I've said it enough times. You could have gotten that from anyone." Curtis challenged him.

"Right. But, what you might not have told anyone was what happened when you tried to take him in." Xander continued. "Great strength. PCP. Angel dust or something you might have reckoned. You had to draw your weapon. Fired it. Straight into him. Should have dropped. But, didn't. Then he just disappeared. Sound familiar?"

Curtis didn't react. All the things that he hadn't told anyone. Not after his initial reports had been scoffed at. And then buried, by special unofficial request by someone high up in the mayor's office.

"Thing is. What I'm after, it's the same thing you are." Xander stared at him. Hard. "Or is that were?"

Curtis nodded, ambiguous. But, both men knew that it was recognition that what Xander has said was true.

"Good." Xander responded. "Thing is, the subject of my own line of investigation is being impeded, by, shall we say, someone with certain political connections. I need access to, your own, files on this."

"This is a set up, isn't it?" Curtis was immediately suspicious. He moved to close the door.

Xander put his hand to the door, stopping it with surprising strength. "No. You've got six deaths, and you're going to see a hell of a lot more. You want that on your conscience?"

The FBI agent hesitated.

Xander leaned in close. He spoke carefully. Leaving all feeling out of his tone. No hint of a joke. Or condescension. Or crazy belief. Completely and utterly truthful. "It was a vampire."

Curtis leaned back. It was preposterous. Sheer lunacy. But, those eyes. The ones of the subject of his case. Those weren't normal. Still, to hear it out loud..

Still something in the eye. The one of the man standing in front of him, made the street hardened federal agent believe.

He opened the door.

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Xander opened his eye. The knock at the door wasn't exactly expected. He slowly woke Vi up.

She stretched and got off of him as he got out of bed, putting on a shirt and pants. He took the time to watch her put on some clothes. It was usually more fun in reverse.

He pulled a handgun out of the nightstand and made for the door.

Vi walked out behind him, wearing one of Xander's shirts. She wasn't carrying anything, but that wouldn't really be a problem for the slayer.

Xander looked through the peephole in the apartment door. It was Robin. Hadn't seen that one coming. Unless, something big had occurred. That on the other hand, wouldn't be a surprise. The government agent safetied his weapon and placed it at the small of his back. Making sure it was secure in the waistband of his jeans, and that the untucked shirt covered it.

He opened the door. "Something I can do for you, Robin?"

"We need to talk." Robin didn't exactly look certain of what he was doing.

Xander shrugged. "Okay."

He went back into the apartment, leaving the watcher to follow him in and close the door. Xander waved at the couch, indicating that Robin should take a seat. The watcher did.

Xander walked into the kitchen. "So what's up?"

"Buffy's back." Robin stated. He watched as Vi walked out of the hall. It wasn't all that surprising, but still gave him something of a shock.

"You don't say." Xander opened the refrigerator and pulled out three bottled waters. It wasn't all he had in there, but drinking something harder probably wouldn't help any of them. And Vi was underage.

"Yeah. They're planning something." Robin waited until Xander came into the family room. He picked up one of the bottles that Xander set on the coffee table, opening it and taking a drink. "Riley Finn. You know him right?"

"Yeah." Xander said. Vi came up to him and stood next to him. "I suspect it wasn't for anything pleasant?"

"No." Robin shook his head. Not at all surprised that the demon hunter didn't look shocked. He was way too good for that sort of thing. "They want him to arrest you."

"I take it they don't know that he can't actually do that. Being what he is and all?" Xander asked.

Robin looked at him questioningly.

"Never mind." Xander shook his head. "For what's it worth, thanks."

Robin nodded. "I'll do what I can, but I don't know what I can really do there anymore."

"You're a good man." Xander walked over to the desk in the corner of the family room and picked up his shoulder bag from the top. Xander opened the main pocket. He pulled out a file and walked back to his original spot.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this." Robin clenched his jaw.

"Because you're a better man than you give yourself credit for." Xander tried to reassure him. "And you have something to lose."

Vi put a hand on Xander's shoulder and squeezed.

"It's like this. I'm not going to give any of the girls up, even when this comes down." Xander felt reassured with Vi's presence. "You have my guarantee on that. But, I'm not going to go down simply because they don't want me around. More than that, I'm not going to let them destroy Riley's life because they think they can use him against me."

Robin wondered where Xander was going with it.

"I need you to take a firmer control of the Council. Of the Slayers. Eduard will back you. My slayers. All of them. Even the ones you don't know about. Linda, and some of the spellworms too." Xander gave some of what he had up.

He wasn't altogether sure of things. More so after Rudy's last communication. Apparently, Willow had worked up a spell. Likely to try to find him or to find out about who he was working for. Didn't work. It did, however, blow out all of the taps and bugs that Level 6 had planted in the House. Completely deaf.

Which meant that he needed active ears in there. At least, until he could get something fixed up inside. It was that, or let the government take more active control of operations. Hardly something he desired.

"I don't want this to be a war." Xander shook his head. "Giles can stay as Head Boy, but I need you to take better operational control of things. I'll give you as much as I can in terms of operational intelligence, but you'll be expected to pull your weight.. In the fight, and in making sure that everything goes smoothly. No screw ups. Nothing in public. Black is black. Uh, no offense."

"Okay." The field watcher nodded. He knew what the man meant.

"One more thing." Xander walked over and set the file on the coffee table.

Robin opened it up, reading it. Not really getting what he was seeing.

"Full pardon. For Faith. I can't have the head slayer worrying about getting rolled by the cops any time she goes out in public. his is one thing that Buffy won't be able to hold over her when it comes down to who leads and who follows. " Xander explained. He knelt down and caught Robin's eyes. "It comes down to one thing. Trust. I can do things. For you. Things you can't. I can't tell you how. You'll just have to show a little, faith."

Robin met his gaze.

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Cindy…

Xander walked into the store. It was small. And smelled like musty old books. An other occult things. It sort of reminded him of the Magic Box. He felt a twinge of nostalgia, but hurriedly suppressed it.

He looked around, noting the shelves filled with old books. Likely some spellbooks or reference volumes. Some glass fronted cases along the walls held artifacts. Weapons as well. Somewhat identifiable for those in the trade. One small table near the back was topped with a number of different types of candles. All marked that they were for sale. As if there was a doubt.

Xander walked up to the sole person in the room. A bored looking goth girl, well older than that really, who blatantly ignored him.

He cleared his throat. "I find myself in need of a weapon. And identification of a certain something."

The lady looked up at him. Not impressed by what looked to be a demon hunter. A number of them came to the shop sometimes. They weren't exactly the best customers. Promises to pay didn't mean much. "What you see is what you get."

"Right." Xander heard the bell on the door jangle as another person walked into the store. He checked it out, but turned back quickly. He lowered his voice though. "Okay. Let's try this again. It's big. Grey scales. Claws."

The storekeeper didn't respond.

Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He'd worked up a quick sketch of his current quarry. He smoothed it out onto the front counter. "This is what I'm after. It's been messing things up about town. Killed a few people. I need to find it again. Thing I hit it with, should have dropped it. It didn't. I need to find something else. So, if you're not too busy to help save lives…"

The goth rolled her eyes and looked at the picture. "Don't know what that is. So, I really can't help you."

The young woman turned back to what she was doing, which was nothing at all.

Xander noticed as the person that had come into the store looked over his shoulder. He moved to cover the drawing, but decided no to. For some reason.

"If that really is the thing you're after, you're not going to find anything here." The slightly older Asian woman said.

Xander turned around and looked at her. "So you know what this is?"

"It's a Kek. But, they're supposed to be extinct." She took a closer look at the picture. It was unmistakable. "How sure are you of the picture?"

Xander looked at the woman, appraisal in his gaze. She returned the look. He weighed the situation. "Very. How can I kill it?"

The woman saw the expression on his face. It was serious business he was in. She'd been bumming around New York for a couple of days. Seeing the sights. Occult and not. The store had been recommended. Didn't exactly seem that impressive. The man on the other hand. That was something else. Not many people wore eye patches anymore. At least when it wasn't related to that Johnny Depp movie that had come out the year before. He had the bearing of a hunter. Had that look to him. Especially about the eye. "If you're right about it, you'd need a Kekfadlorem blade. From the look of this place, you're not going to find it here."

"Okay." Xander was thankful that at least someone could help him. "Where can I find one then?"

"There's a place near the park. Smitty's. Sells all kinds of things. He may have one." The woman held out her hand. "I'm Cindy by the way."

"Jack." Xander shook her hand. "You have the address?"

"Yeah." Cindy nodded. She checked her watch. She still had some time before she was to check out of her hotel. "But, he doesn't open for a while. Buy me a coffee and you can tell me what this is about."

Xander nodded.

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The connection wasn't very stable. Old lines maybe.

"What was that?" Riley said loudly into the phone.

"We need you to come here." Buffy said, exasperated. She'd explained the situation as well as she could. Of course, Riley didn't exactly seem to get it. The bad connection may have been part of that.

"Why?" Riley asked. "You're telling me that Xander's messing up, but you haven't exactly explained what's going on. I mean, sure he's not exactly the best at this, but he's no slouch either."

"I already said why." Buffy tried to stay calm. "He's not listening to anybody anymore and we don't know who's he working for."

"But, that's doesn't mean he's working against you." Riley tried to be as clear as possible. Evidently, Buffy wasn't listening to what he was saying. He had given her the benefit of the doubt when he couldn't make it to Sunnydale the year before. And the city had sunk into the Earth. He was reluctant to just let her make the calls now.

"Yes it does." Buffy tried to convince her ex-boyfriend. "He even kidnapped an, uh, ally of mine. Ours. Said he was arresting him."

She didn't want to say it had been one of her boyfriends. Not to Riley. "And he says he's been getting weapons from you. Guns."

That certainly made the army captain take notice. "What?"

"Yeah." Buffy was glad she had finally gotten his attention. "Apparently, Xander told Robin that you've been giving him guns to supply his own little army."

"Whose Robin?" Riley asked. Trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He'd been away for quite a long time it seemed. A bunch of new players now.

"One of the watchers." Buffy explained. "Look. He's been doing God knows what, for God knows who. Can you come here and deal with that?"

"What do you expect me to do?" Riley frowned. It was like he was supposed to just be some little lap dog. At Buffy's beck and call.

"Arrest him." Buffy said simply, as if that explained everything. As if that would solve everything.

"What? I can't just do that." Riley was incredulous. Ethan Rayne was one thing. Xander, someone that he had considered a friend was quite another. Not when he wasn't exactly sure what the situation really was.

"But, he's been killing people." Buffy exclaimed.

"What?" Riley had a hard time with that disconnect. Xander, goofy Xander, killing people. He knew he had taken out a number of demons. But, people was something different.

"Yeah. Tortured and shot someone in New York." Buffy said. She had been fully briefed before making the call. To better be able to convince Riley to come to Cleveland.

Riley sat down on the couch. That was hard to swallow. But, Buffy wouldn't make something like that up.

"Daddy." A young girl ran over and hugged his legs. He hugged her with a free hand and set her on the couch.

Riley smiled over at his daughter. He cupped the mouthpiece on the phone, "Shhh. Daddy's talking to someone on the phone right now, sweetheart. Give me a minute."

His daughter smiled back and hopped off the couch running back to her mother. Sam walked in and looked at her husband, noticing the troubled look on his face.

Riley returned to the phone. "I don't know if I can get involved anymore. Some things have been happening..."

"Riley. Please." Buffy said, in a somewhat pleading voice. "I really need your help. This is important. Xander killed a slayer in Mexico."

That last bit hadn't been exactly what went down, but close enough.

Riley drew in a breath. He could hear the truth in Buffy's voice. To kill a slayer. That was something else. He had to do something now. "Okay, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." Buffy said, relief was evident in her voice. "Be here as soon as you can."

"It might be a couple of days. Bye." Riley said, somewhat shaken. He hung up.

Sam walked over to him. "What's wrong?"

"Xander." Riley said simply.

"What about him?" His wife remembered the young man. Soon to be married, he didn't seem the type to cause her husband worry. "Did something happen to him?"

"Something like that." Her husband wondered what he should do. He couldn't just go off. He'd have to ask for leave. And find some men still loyal to the team he had been a part of to take custody of Xander, and then make him disappear into the system. That was a bad turn to pull on a friend though. It had been a number of years, but surely Xander couldn't have changed that much. Then again, Buffy had.

Still, it had been Buffy, the Slayer, that had told him. That still meant something, despite his uncertainty.

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Jack…

Xander walked through the smoke. He found the small man laying on his back, struggling to breath. His RPG had taken out the front car. Another grenade had taken out the last. Drug convoys weren't his usual stick, but one of the people there had made it worth it. And his relatively rare talents, and skill in finding people, had led to this particular job.

Barnes couldn't have located his target by himself. But, his man Jack could find him. Or at least, find someone who could. In this case, some local shaman who had worked a tracking spell. Of course that hardly constituted evidence, even in the Agency, so the official government man couldn't have an official team take the subject. So again, Xander had to do it. With Barnes to provide pick up, because he just happened to be in the area.

It wasn't a one sided affair. It gave the one-eyed hunter, of humans this time, a favor. And some cash. Some for himself and some for expenses.

Some money paid for the route. Some money for weapons. The ambush he had come up with himself. Take out the front car. Take out the rear. Machine gun to take out anybody that had taken offense to the attack. With a little magical smoke from the same shaman, who had promptly left after his work was done. That had cost some money too.

Xander reached down and frisked the man, then turned him on his back. A handgun was tossed away. Handcuffs were extracted and tightened around the man's wrists. "Get up."

The guards hadn't been much trouble. Locals mostly. They'd spooked and run when he started to kill them. Their AK-47's really hadn't been a threat to him behind the bipod mounted weapon that he had used. He'd checked the area as best he could, but given his one man, and the thicker smog than planned, he wanted to get out fast.

Xander pulled the man to his feet and started to march him out. He had an appointment to make. He felt rather than heard the distinctive sound of a rifle being cocked to his left. No mistaking that signal for a ready to fire weapon.

"I don't think ye be wanting to do that now." A male voice said to his left. The thick Irish brogue was odd on the African plains. "If you take him, there'd be nobody left to pay me now is there, boyo?"

"Be cool now." Xander said, not moving. He didn't panic. And didn't lower his weapon. "You don't want to be doing anything foolish. See, he's not going to be paying you anyway considering that this convoy is toast."

Xander heard the man move a bit in the dirt. The gun didn't move though.

"You may have a point there." The man said after a moment.

"I think maybe I could pay you what you're owed." Xander didn't really believe that would settle things.

"Sorry." The man said, actually sounding a bit apologetic. "I still have me word."

"Okay." Xander nodded slowly. "Then we're in something of a standoff."

"Not really." The man said. "I have a gun to yer head. And ye have a gun at, nothing at all. I don't think yer that fast. Are ye?"

"No. But, I'm sure you heard that rumbling by now." Xander said, speaking a bit louder over the coming storm. Good luck that. "That ain't the weather. So none of us has that much time if we stand here doing nothing."

The man didn't turn. "What is that?"

"Some people not at all pleased with this man's actions. Undoubtedly unhappy with how things are going. I guess he was being watched. Wouldn't you say?" Xander replied. "Oh well, my last grenade took out the shipments, so he's fucked anyway. With them, or his employers. Which would be the ones paying you. You can have him. And answer to his bosses."

Xander let the man go. The small man fell to his feet.

He coughed a bit. And struggled to turn. He looked up at Xander. "You. Jack."

"What?" Jack asked. Confused at why his employer was calling the other man by his name.

"Not you." The man said snidely. "Him. One-eyed Jack. How's it feel knowing you were so close and you're going to be killed by some hired gun in the desert."

"This isn't actually the desert. Wrong climate. Didn't you go to school?" Xander wondered how he would get out of it. He put his mouth in autopilot while using his head to come up with a way out.

"Whatever." The man turned to the other one. "Jack. Kill this bastard."

Jack hesitated. "Wait. What's this thing that's coming?"

"Do it you idiot." The man yelled. He got up, slowly with his arms still bound.

Jack rankled at that. He may be a mercenary, but that didn't mean he didn't have feelings.

Xander turned his head and looked at the man. He was older than him. Early thirties maybe. Or forties. A face that didn't really tell age that well. Red hair. "You recognize that sound yet?"

"Helicopter." The mercenary replied. It had been some time since he had heard the sound. It echoed differently in the desert.

"Black Hawk." Xander specified. "This man is wanted for murder. All kinds of nasty little dealings. The country I'm from would call him a terrorist. So would a number of others. If those labels meant anything out here."

"Yeah?" Jack questioned. "What's he done, Jack?"

"Supplied weapons to all sorts. Drugs. Some of which probably found their way onto the streets of Belfast." Xander said, reaching a bit. The last was something of a guess. Made sense though. It was a possibility. "Latest thing though. Planned, and is planning a hit. England. Might not be your favorite country, but…do you really want it to happen? Bombing of civilians? That something you'd want?"

"Not all Irish are IRA." Jack grumbled. Still he had been, so he couldn't say the man was completely wrong.

"No." Xander agreed. "But, your weaponry and job here. And accent. It was a logical guess. No offense intended."

"Stop blathering you fool." The man in handcuffs shouted. He looked around for a weapon. "Kill him."

"You could." Xander still didn't move. The chopper got louder, and closer. "But, then I suspect that man on that helo over there. The one with the large gun pointing at us, he's not going to be too happy."

Jack didn't move either. He noticed the weapon rapidly coming into view. It wouldn't be long before the were in range for a sure kill. He wondered what he should do. He looked at his employer. "Is he right? Is that what ye do?"

"Does it matter?" The man threw a wicked grin at the mercenary. He noticed a handgun laying in the dirt and went to pick it up. "I pay you not to think."

"Well, it's too bad that I do." Jack replied. He raised his weapon and send the butt of the rifle right into the man's face. He fell down in a slump.

Xander nodded. "Good man."

Jack looked down at his fallen employer. He wouldn't be doing mercenary work there much longer. He may have been in the IRA. Been what some called terrorists. But, it hadn't been that for him. He'd been a fighter for a cause. A just cause, he still believed. Even if things hadn't ended exactly how he would have wanted. But, he'd never went after children or the innocent. That was crossing a line between fighting for freedom and terrorism. To his mind at least. "Not really, Jack."

Xander didn't bother to correct him. Though he did wonder which one of the three that the now unemployed mercenary was talking about.

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"He asked for leave." The general handed over the request form. He wondered about the man in front of him. The blank look. The dull black suit. It nearly screamed spook. Stereotypically so in its way. The only irregular mark was the eye patch. And his unusual politeness.

But, still there was something about him, despite his obvious youth. The tension in his arms. The way he had surveyed the room when he had walked in. The man moved like someone that did more than bribe people for a living. Which is why most Agency personnel did, in his opinion at least. This Agent Harris, he moved like someone who'd been in the field. CIA had its own operators now, but this guy was Homeland. But, he had Agency clearance. With enough access to get whatever he wanted, with additional politeness given.

"Is that right?" Xander replied, taking a hold of the sheet. He glanced over it. Not that much time for approval, but given the lack of actual duty, Riley had probably figured that he wouldn't need to give much notice. "I see it hasn't been approved."

"You want to tell me what this is about?" The general asked, not really expecting an answer. It was above even his level. That enough was enough to set him on edge.

Riley and his squad had been sent to his post. No real reason was given. Simply that they were to be housed there and given light duty. Their records were mostly blacked out. But, they weren't exactly impressive. Not compared to the others that were housed there. Things didn't really add up.

"Sorry. Can't." Xander replied, attempting to look at least somewhat sorry. He wasn't really, since the general shouldn't really have asked, but he couldn't blame the older man. If he was in charge, he'd have wanted to know too. If there was on thing both men had in common, it was loyalty to their own. "I don't make the rules."

"But, you want Captain Finn." The general said, not exactly keeping the annoyance out of his voice.

"I just need to talk to him." Xander pulled out a sheet of paper from his shoulder bag. It did look rather odd given his attire, but he didn't really care. "I do however, need these people."

The garrison commander took the paper and looked at it. He recognized all of the names. Half of them were 1st SFOD-D. The others were from the 3rd Special Forces Group. Pretty much the best that were currently stationed there. Some had only recently gotten back from deployment abroad. Some of those deployments had somewhat suspiciously been cut short. "And now you're taking my men. Extended deployment and you're not even going to tell me why."

"This wasn't exactly my idea. And, I'm not going to explain this. I may be young, but do not treat me like a child. We work for the same boss, General." Xander said. He tried to as diplomatic as possible, without appearing weak. He was coming in and taking personnel without telling the man why. That couldn't have been pleasant. "You have my authorization. This comes from the top. I'm sorry."

Xander reached into his bag again and pulled out a thick portfolio bound set of papers. He passed it to the commander. "Here are their orders. Be sure they get them. I also do need to talk to Captain Franklin."

"And you're not even going to tell me what this is about." The general grumbled. Not asking a question.

"These men served their time in Hell. Now, I'm dumping them into a whole other level of it. Don't worry, there's a reason why they were selected. They'll do you proud, sir." Xander said, somewhat cryptically, somewhat trying to appease the man. "I'll be over at that firing range you have. Send Captain Franklin over to me in about fifteen minutes. And uh, send Captain Finn about fifteen minutes after that. Don't tell him who he is to see. Just that he is to be there. Oh, and nobody else knows I'm here. Understood?"

Xander stood up and gathered his things. He was about to exit when he turned back. He didn't want to leave things like that. "For what's it worth. This is worth it."

The general watched him go. Definitely not like any other spook he had worked with.

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Abby…

Xander ran as fast as he could. He didn't even try to stop and aim. It wouldn't have mattered if he did. The vampire was simply too fast and taking those fences way too easily for him to peg him with a shot. Even if he could have been assured of a kill.

Chicago. The Windy City. Suburbs of it at least. Apparently, it was cold in winter. Definitely not like Africa was. Winter or summer. Didn't really exist. Not where he had been anyway.

He found a little more down deep and sped up.

Xander watched as the vampire hopped the last fence on the block. Landing with a thud in the backyard of some house. He heard a crash, likely a misstep. Those happened. Even for the bad guys.

Screw it, thought Xander. He ran and kept running, not slowing to clear the fence. He ran right through the thin wood. He held his arms up right before he could hit and the boards parted from his momentum.

The thin and extremely agile vampire had regained his feet. Evidently he had landed on a flower pot, cracking it and stumbling to the ground. It made him lose a few seconds. Seconds that the man hunting him had used to good effect.

Xander tried to pull his gun up, but didn't quite make it. The vampire turned and ran at him. It was a smart move. Those new frangibles would not make for a good night for the vampire, but only if it hit. He tossed the gun. Against damn near all common sense, but sometimes one had to do the nonsensical thing.

The hunter, of vampires this time, readied himself and let the vampire come at him, he rolled back as the monster reached him, grabbing hold of his target and letting him fly over his head. Physics at work.

The vampire flew head first into the fence, causing more damage. It struggled to its feet; head having taken the brunt of the blow.

Xander regained his feet quickly and pulled a stake from a holster on his belt. He moved in fast, trying to take advantage of the vampire's stunned state. With his limited sight in the dark, and his only human strength, he needed all the help he could get.

The vampire had to take a moment before it could stand up straight, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. He took a step forward. He only had a second to see the man before he would have been staked. It was enough. He swept an arm down, knocking the hunter's stake off target. It didn't stop the man from impacting against him though. They went down hard together.

Xander grunted as they landed, trying to get the stake back on target. He felt the vampire overpower him and flip him onto his back, the monster on top of him. The vampire's open mouth filled his vision. Fangs glistening with a coat of saliva. They descended towards his throat.

Xander bent forward and opened his mouth as well. He aimed higher, taking hold of the vampire's nose and biting as hard as he could.

The vampire screamed in agony at the penetration. He jerked back out of reflex. It was a mistake. The monster felt as part of his nose didn't come back with him. It only made him scream louder. The vampire growled and leapt off.

Xander nearly gagged. He scrambled to his feet, pulling his stake up again. He spit out the small piece of flesh he had kept. "C'mon you bastard. I'm not finished yet."

The vampire roared loudly, evidently not caring he was in a residential area, and ran forward again. Low this time, so as not to get thrown again. He saw the man move to the right just as he passed by. He felt the sharp elbow hit him against the side of his face. He lost vision in his right eye, hearing a sharp crack as it went.

Xander spun around as he hit. He heard rather than saw the impact of his blow. The tipped elbow guard he had on had done its work. A damaging blow.

Still, the vampire managed to retaliate when Xander tried to get clear. A lucky swipe of an arm, but his demonic strength allowed him to send the hunter a number of feet back, stumbling right into the thick trunk of a tree.

Xander coughed as he hit hard. The blow caused him to drop his stake. He kept his feet though, as difficult as it was. He had gotten some good hits in. However, he would get taken apart if it took much longer. He was a shooter. Not a fighter. Too bad he didn't have the scatter gun anymore. Or his sidearm.

The vampire was on him before he could get away and find his stake. But, he was able to get low and take the vampire down at the knees. Guess those couple of seasons worth of watching UFC paid off.

Xander managed to get the vampire pinned, using leverage, and the vampire's lack of leverage, to rain a set off hard strikes into the vampire's face and throat. He felt some bones crack, though he didn't know if it was the thing he was beating on, or his own hand.

The vampire felt the blows. Much more with all the injuries it was sustaining. The demon within gave it enormous strength and stamina, but even it had limits. And the vampire was nearly reaching the threshold. It summoned as much power as it could and tried to muscle the human insect off of him.

Xander landed hard on the lawn. He tried to reach his feet, but couldn't quite make it. On his knees, he watched the vampire come upon him, slowly. Stalking him. Blood covered both of their faces.

Xander tried to think of what else he had. Nothing really. He saw the vampire smile, showing white fangs dotted with blood. The vampire's own, from its mangled nose. Xander smiled as well, showing his teeth. His eye opened wide.

One thing was certain, he wouldn't go down easy.

Nobody saw it coming. The vampire was thrown into the tree. Quite a blow to send it that hard and that fast.

A young woman had kicked the demon into it. The newcomer followed up by scooping up the hunter's fallen stake and striding towards the stunned vampire.

She batted away a feeble return strike easily. A quick thrust and it was over. The vampire was dust.

The woman turned to him.

Xander tried to get up, but couldn't. "I don't suppose you've had dreams of being other girls have you? Hunting monsters in the night?"

That stopped the young woman short.

Xander noticed as a man came up to him. A man in the middle part of his life, 50s at least. But, the look of someone that could take care of himself. Even now. The shotgun that was now pointed at him spelled it out quite clearly.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man kept his distance. He didn't need to pump the shotgun to demonstrate his sincerity. It was already ready to fire.

"Agent Harris." Xander coughed out. "Let me get out my ID. And, uh, I'll pay for the fence."

The man with the gun nodded.

Xander reached into his pocket carefully, not wanting to get a load of buckshot in the face. He pulled out his badge and tossed it to the woman's feet. Likely his daughter.

The young lady picked it up and looked at the id. The light from patio lights illuminated it from the rear.

"It looks real Dad." The woman said. She held it out to her father.

The man took a quick look. He narrowed his eyes, but he could tell a legitimate government badge when he saw one. Besides, the man was in no shape to fight back. Not after the beating he had taken. And that other thing… "What the hell was that?"

"Vampire." The woman said before the man on his knees could.

Xander nodded. Glad not to be the one to say it this time. "Right. Miss?"

"I'm Abby." The woman said. She didn't know why she had given him her name. He had stopped her short with his question.

She hadn't told anyone of what had happened. The dreams. The super strength. The agility. The even better skill with all sorts of weaponry.

But, the man with one eye, the government agent, hadn't seemed surprised by her actions and capabilities. And there was something in there. Something that told her she could trust him.

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Xander sighted the target and squeezed the trigger twice. A millisecond later two small holes appeared in the center of the man sized target he had been aiming at. He shifted his aim and pulled the trigger twice again, emptying the magazine. He ejected the spent mag and made sure the chamber was clear, holding them both as he walked back to the table.

It hadn't been difficult to get approval to use the range. Not with his credentials. The M9 he was using wasn't his standard handgun. He could use it well enough though. Hit center mass with all the rounds he had fired. Not his exact best, but he wasn't there to show off. Or kill something.

He watched as Captain Franklin came up to him. Xander took the time to straighten his tie. Though he left his suit jacket where he had originally put it on the table.

"Captain Dominic Franklin. Thirty three years old. 3rd Special Force Group. Deployed to all sorts of places. Sub-Saharan Africa as per your unit's area of responsibility. " Xander said before the decade older man could speak.

The other man stood straight up, at attention it seemed, and nodded.

Xander took a seat on the table. He waved at the man. "You can relax."

"That's right, sir." The captain took a closer look at the man he had been ordered to meet. He looked puzzled for a moment. "I know you, sir."

"No. You don't." Xander had had a reason for asking to meet with this particular recruit personally. The others would just be given orders and they would be transported there. No questions. This case was different.

"Jack." The man responded. He remembered the name. That rumpled Agency man in Africa had mentioned it.

Xander clenched his jaw. He had had reasons to try to give that name up. Reasons he hadn't revealed to anyone. Well, almost anyone. "Name's Xander Harris. Agent Harris. If you want to be less than polite. Whatever you thought you saw and knew, that was someone else. As your orders state, everything you've done in the nine months prior to your recall back here is classified. Understand, Captain?"

"Yes, sir." Dominic did not understand why he had been recalled early, or why the man was suddenly in Fort Bragg. Long way for some raggedly looking mercenary from some time ago. Of course, now he looked like some kind of spook. Could have been a cover back then. Likely was. That less than public mission in Africa. Extraction for someone that the CIA had in near some terrorist stronghold in one of those less than friendly countries. He had thought it had been some asset, with a hitchhiker. The man in front of him didn't exactly look like the type that the CIA would hire on. Not even as an operator.

Handled himself well though. When the mission had gone tits up. Had blown up quite a bit of the country on their way out. There had been much to wonder about, but he'd been told, ordered, to forget. Now it was coming back to him.

Still, he wasn't paid to think. Not about that sort of thing at least. What happened before, wasn't important. Not if Jack, Xander, was standing there in front of him. With new orders.

"Okay. Let me see you shoot. The impressive sort of fire." Xander said, coming off of the table. He let the army captain pick up the gun and check it.

The Green Beret, as they're sometimes known, loaded a magazine, making sure the weapon was always pointed down range. Good discipline. Not that he expected any less.

Dominic stepped to the line. He aimed and fired off a few rounds. He had to adjust a bit. Then he emptied the magazine. At a number of the different targets. They all hit center. Not center mass. All shots connected in the small highlighted circles of the respective targets' heads. No misses. Nothing that could even be considered a badly fired round.

Xander hadn't picked the man. But, he could see why the army captain had been chosen. At least, if his small arms abilities were any indications of what the man could do in the field.

"Pretty damn good. Let me have that back. Not that I expected any less. After you contributed in saving the life of that guy that looked like me, but wasn't. Glad you still got the touch." Xander took back the weapon and emptied it. He walked over to the range and replaced the targets with fresh ones. The captain waited in silence, not knowing what to expect. But, ready to do what he was ordered to.

"Thank you sir." The Green Beret stated. He looked at Xander. "Can you tell me what this is about, sir?"

"Special assignment. You and a select number are going to be doing some work for us. Don't worry, it's legal. Just go to where you're told to, and I'm sure you'll do fine. If Africa, which I've never been to, is any indication." Xander said, looking the man in the eye. Making sure he got it.

"Yes, sir." Captain Franklin said. He waited for Agent Harris to say more. He didn't get anything. Would have been a surprise if he had. "Is there anything else, sir?"

"No, you can go back now. Just report with the other selected at the ordered time. Transportation has been provided for." Xander smiled. "Thank you, Captain."

Dominic nodded and turned around. Walking back to the main area of his post. He remembered what he had seen in Africa. And what the man behind him had done. He wasn't sure what he would be a part of, but more than likely it was something he could be proud of. Even if he couldn't tell anyone about it.

The captain passed by another captain on his way back. He didn't really recognize the younger blonde man, but had seen him around post. Had a pretty young wife. And a child. He wondered if that was a recruit for whatever his new duty would be as well. Part of him hoped he wouldn't be. Whatever it was, it was likely to be dangerous. What with the security level on the orders. Still, duty was duty, and it was a privilege to serve. No matter what could be lost.

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Paul…

He moved back, covering himself as well as he could. When one of the demonic hunters after him showed its head he let off a small string of fire from his rifle. The G36C was still a bit new, but it was serving him well. He may have to stay in the family. The larger variant of the weapon had a nice feel when he had test fired it earlier in the week.

It was a shame that he had lost his M4. A hellhound had managed to bite the barrel, bending it out of alignment. No way to repair it and no time to get a replacement. Couldn't think about that now though.

Xander reached a dead end. The maps of the sewers and tunnels underneath Old St. Peter's Basilica hadn't been that complete. Unfortunately for him.

He looked around; the thermal goggles not giving him the best vision, but good enough to see anything trying to get to him. The IR light on his weapon lit up the tight tunnel as best as it could. He found an old ladder leading up to a hatch. The best he could hope for.

Xander slung his rifle on his back and started up the ladder, as quickly as he could manage. The mission hadn't gone exactly to plan. Word had reached him in Africa of a pack of local hell hounds that had been taken and moved. To Vatican City.

That couldn't stand so he had come after them. To get them before they went to ground and started breeding. He'd taken out the nest easy enough. Some incendiary explosives in the depths of the Earth and no one was the wiser. It still left a dozen or so adults after his blood though.

His retreat out hadn't been easy, but not too difficult. His rifle, and a few grenades took out the majority. There were only a few, three, left.

Xander heard scrambling from below. He looked down, the dogs were attempting to scale the walls. And annoyingly, they looked like they might actually succeed if they could dig their claws in deeper. Xander hurried up the long ladder. He struggled to move the heavy hatch before the dogs could get to him.

He finally broke through into the church. It was the middle of the night so it didn't look like there was anybody there. A godsend.

Xander pulled himself over the lip and onto the floor. Not even thinking about why the sewer hatch hadn't been locked down that late in the night. He pulled a grenade from a strap on his vest and pulled the pin. Xander dropped it into the tunnels, then started backing up to take cover. Probably should have closed the grate, but in his haste, he didn't.

Bad move.

Xander watched as the grenade he had just dropped sailed out of the hole. It arced and landed near the benches he had taken cover behind.

"Oh shit." Xander said to nobody. He ran away. Diving to the floor and sliding over behind some other church benches before the grenade could explode.

It did, causing a large boom that echoed in the church.

Xander spun around and brought his weapon around, aiming at the hole in the ground. The dogs wouldn't leave him alone after what he had done. And were certainly a formidable opponent.

Two of them had made it out of the hole. They started to advance on him. Xander aimed and prepared to fire.

He didn't get the chance.

With a roar a huge man jumped in front of his line of fire. He held a large sword. It glowed with a blue flame. The man swung it easily in front of him, taking off a leg of a hellhound that tried to get too close. A thrust killed the other that tried to move in and kill the interloper. It burst into flames.

The now three legged animal tried to back up, but was quickly silenced with a quick, blazing slash.

The final one managed to get a leg up into the church before the man brought the sword point down, right into its skull. The dog's head burst into flames, its pain-filled bark the last sound it made in life.

Xander struggled to his feet. Amazed at the sight. He'd seen masterful swordwork before. Ths was impressive. Though, it may have been because of the magical fire. That was also cool.

"Uh." Xander tried to make out. He couldn't exactly make out the man's face. He was wearing image enhancing equipment too. "How's it going?"

The two hunters looked at each other. The larger one, by a great deal, wiped off his sword and walked to the Cathedra Petri. The Cathedra Petri that had been damaged by Xander's tossed and then tossed back grenade.

Xander walked up behind him, careful not to make a threatening move. He could see the damage he had made. He didn't know what the thing was, a chair or something, but it would be pretty blown up. And blackened by fire.

The man turned to face the other hunter.

Xander took a step back. He didn't want to have to fight the man. But, he would defend himself. And his actions. "Sorry about that. There were these hellhounds and well I had to stop them. I'll be going now. Good work."

The man took up his sword again. It burst into flames. "I am Knight Paul Cunningham. By the Order of Michael you will drop your weapons and come with me."

Xander looked at him. He couldn't see his face. Couldn't really tell much about him. He could raise his rifle and try to fight. Probably would even be able to make it out. But, there was something in the man's voice. Something that told him that he should trust the giant in front of him. He nodded. "Okay. But, I keep my weapons. Let's go."

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Riley walked up to the man he had been ordered to meet. He was somewhat anxious. He had been told to report to Fort Bragg once he had been pulled out of his latest operation. They were just left there, to rot, given nothing of substance to do. Government inefficiency at its worst. Major Ellis had been transferred and any sources they had had to get some idea of what to do had dried up.

Xander waited for him to walk up. He had checked the phone records. Some calls from Cleveland within the last two days. Long ones. One's he had heard. Riley certainly wasn't happy with his use of the soldier's name and credentials as a cover for how he obtained his arms and supplies. Even less so once Buffy had spelled out his various crimes, actual or not.

It took a moment for Captain Finn to recognize the man that was currently sitting before him. The different hair, the different way of carrying himself, the different weight to his body. And most specifically the eye. The one that was still there. A different look. More serious. It was a hell of a thing to see after what he had heard. "Xander."

"Riley." Xander smiled. Some of it was even true, since he didn't not like the guy. But, part of it was not altogether friendly, since he did hear know the potentially nasty things that were sort of threatened upon his body. Riley would probably not be a voice of restraint if he was brought in. "It's been a long time. You look good."

"What are you doing here?" Riley said, through grit teeth. The suit. The weapon next to him. Clearly the man was allowed to be there. It didn't make much sense given what he had been told.

"My job." Xander replied, no sarcasm in his voice. "As you do yours. I know that Buffy likely told you all sorts of things. How I'm a threat to her and what Giles are doing. I'm not. Not really. Still. I respect your loyalty to them. I expect your loyalty to your country. I apologize for using your name as a cover, but I didn't think they'd be able to track you down. Anyway, now's the time. She wants you to arrest me, I'm not going. So back down and walk away. Next time she calls, or if she bothers to come, turn her down."

"Why should I?" Riley asked. "I don't know how you talked your way in here. But…"

"But, I have orders." Xander picked up his bag from the table, and pulled out a small stapled bunch of pages. He handed them to Riley. "Orders you're supposed to obey. I expect you to do that too."

Riley read through them. They were clear. He couldn't lay a hand on the man. Still, if Buffy was right… "I don't think you're supposed to be here. Why should I believe this?"

"Because you have something to lose." Xander said. "If you chose to disobey you will be brought up on charges and imprisoned. You will lose, everything. You don't have wonder why I'm allowed here. All that matters is that someone up there likes me. And they let me be here. I have connections. That's enough."

"You can't be serious Xander." Riley shook his head. He watched as Xander got up, walking away from the weapon still on the table. "Buffy…"

"Is not always right." Xander completed the sentence. Though not likely what Riley had meant to say. "I still don't get why you listen to her so much. I mean, I did for a while. But, it was something I grew out of. Once I figured out that she wasn't actually all that bright. In these sorts of things, I mean. Not you know, in general."

"She's smarter than you. If you think that I'm just going to let you go." Riley retorted.

"I'm surprised. I mean, I would have thought that you'd have been okay with me taking out Buffy's boyfriend. I mean, you weren't a particular fan of Spike after all." Xander shrugged.

"That's not what this is about. You know what Walsh did. You want whoever you work for, or this government, to use them?" Riley nearly shouted.

"No. I don't." Xander replied, calmly. "And that's not the issue. Like I told them, that's why I'm here. Doing this. Or did Buffy not tell you that?"

Riley said nothing.

"Let me tell you a story." Xander said. "About a man. He wasn't a particularly good man to some at least. He was religious. Faithful. He wanted to do something. Something big. So he went to buy himself a weapon. A weapon of shall we say, moderate, destruction. Didn't turn out that way. They were to have met at a certain place, but the seller never showed. The weapon got destroyed unbeknownst to him, and he didn't have jack. So the seller had to return with nothing."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Riley asked, confused by the seemingly random tangent.

"I'm getting to that." Xander replied. "So this religious man, he came up with another plan that he went to tell his leader. One that worked. One that utilized some undercover people to appropriate certain things that could be used as make shift weapons. If they went down at the right place, or places. Thousands dead. It was horrible. A tragedy. You see. This man, he was supposed to see the Doctor. For an attack in let's just say a place. One that was supposed to go a different way. Didn't turn out exactly how he wanted. Cause while he was at the designated meet, the other party, didn't show. Still, he walked away and planned for another day."

Riley, not an idiot, caught on fast. How he, while still operating within mission parameters, had never bothered to find out if there was a buyer. He felt sick to his stomach. "You…you can't be serious."

"No. I'm not." Xander felt bad for him. Truly. It was a cheap shot. "But, you didn't know that. Cause you were lucky. Cause we were all lucky."

"You." Riley shook his head. Still somewhat shaken.

"What do you want from me? Because as far as I can tell, you're a nice guy. Loyal to your friends. But, not a strategic thinker." Xander stated. "So don't think about this. Follow your orders. And leave this alone. The fact that I can just walk around here, should tell you something. I have allies. Allies with official pull."

"So what, you expect me to do nothing?" Riley snapped.

"I expect you to do your duty. You can resign, but trust me, steps will be taken to monitor your actions. You ever try to play cowboy, and baby, it won't end well." Xander replied, taking the other man's anger in stride. "You have a wife. A child. They need you. Husband. And father. That's a good life. Stay here, until they decide what to do with you. Ask for a transfer to Iraq or Afghanistan. Or leave. Find a decent civilian job. Heck, join Blackwater or something. I don't know. Just live a good life. You deserve it. Cause this, this you're not ready for. And that's not a bad thing."

Xander walked back to the table and gathered his things. He spoke without looking back. He didn't even need to look in Riley's eyes to see the effect he had had. "I could have done this much differently. Remember Rayne? You arrested him. On US soil. Without Presidential authorization to take human prisoners. Posse Comitatus says that you should get two in cause of that. Matheson ain't protecting you anymore. And there's still paperwork pointing at you. And that's just the least hurtful thing I could do if you come at me."

Riley said nothing. He hadn't thought of that at the time. Xander was right. It had been a crime. One that nobody had said anything about. Until now.

He was in over his head. And he knew it. He was a soldier, and he had to follow orders.

Buffy had manage to convince him of something. But, Xander, the man could have potentially destroyed him if he wanted to. That meant something. It meant more. Whatever Xander was up to, or who he was doing it for, he was still on the right side of things. Only someone there would have spared him. Riley knew that down deep.

Buffy be damned.

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Author's Note: Longest chapter so far. And first one over 10,000 words. I suppose some of it, one part in particular could be considered controversial. But, after Gilbert Gottfried's joke, I think it's been time enough. And it was meant to be shocking for the character.


	56. Chapter Fifty Five

**Chapter 55: Domestic Bliss**

Xander clicked the mouse. The computer screen flashed to the next image. He studied it carefully, trying to find the patterns he was looking for. After a minute or so of intense search, he clicked the mouse again, bringing up the next image.

The process continued for the next fifteen minutes. It was mind numbing. Not as bad as tracking credit card records or reading through phone transcripts, but it was just as engaging. He had to give it up for the crew of the Indian research vessel though, they were extremely methodical. And that had resulted in the latest data file being over 500 SONAR shots in all.

Xander yawned, thinking back to the six hour lecture he had had to take to take in order to be able to read the images he was flipping through now. At least it was time well spent. He finished with the image that was currently displayed and switched to the next. It was the last. Thankfully.

The government agent leaned back and stretched, rubbing the base of his spine. Being stuck in front of a computer for ten hours was not his preferred workload for a day. But, ultimately it was necessary. Cindy had been hard at work in her office as well. Coordinating with the American wizard in Peru. They'd managed to find some information. Like the name of what they were dealing with. The Cython. From the descriptions they weren't a particularly friendly species. With enough natural weaponry to put them on par with any hunter on the ground. At least one that didn't have close air support.

The others on his team had even begun progress on finding out where the army that had gotten out was heading to. Though they already knew the destination for the demons' quest. Finding them before they hit that spot was another matter. The army would have to be engaged, and the volatile nature of the crystal meant that right on top of the Vault was not the ideal location.

Xander checked his watch. He switched off the program and opened his e-mail account. The encryption and data link was built in so all he had to do was send off a quick message to the head of the Indian task force on the lack of identification of any of the pictures that had been sent. Which meant that there would be another batch the next day.

Xander logged out of his computer and switched the terminal off. He grabbed his cup and took the last sip of cold coffee. It tasted terrible, no doubt due to it sitting on his desk cooling for six hours. He picked up his desk phone and dialed the hanger. "Vince, get the plane ready. I need to get back to Cleveland by six-thirty."

He hung up the phone and picked up his coffee cup. Xander stood up and walked out of his office, heading down the hall. He stepped into a small room on the right. It used to be an office, but it had been converted into a break room for the building's still rather limited personnel. A refrigerator and a few tables had been added. As well as a counter and sink along one of the walls.

Xander stepped to the sink and rinsed out his coffee cup. He noticed as Curtis walked in, carrying the remains of his lunch.

"Hey." Curtis nodded to his commander.

Xander turned off the water and looked behind him. "Hey. Heading home?"

"No. I still need to go through the last batch of personnel requests," Curtis replied. He threw the brown paper bag that contained what was left of his late lunch into the trash can next to the refrigerator. "How about you?"

"Yeah. I finished the latest batch of files. Nothing so far." Xander picked up a towel and wiped down the cup. "I'm supposed to have dinner with Vi anyhow."

"They're going to come after you." Curtis frowned. He knew what had gone down in North Carolina. Riley was effectively eliminated, but that didn't mean that the Council, or at least certain segments of it would just stop.

An extra security detail had been placed on his family, but it wouldn't be there forever. Then again, only Eduard from the Council knew where they had moved. So it wasn't exactly public information. And any attempt on the part of the Council, or more likely Willow, to try to look for him in any public database would bring all sorts of extra trouble to their doorstep. The FBI did not look highly on unauthorized attempts to log in to the records of their agents. Even past ones that weren't well thought of anymore.

"I know," Xander stated. He'd have to move out soon. Which was unfortunate. He had enjoyed being closer to Vi. The next state over crap had not been pleasant. Not straining on the strength of their relationship, but hardly a desirable state of affairs. "I'll take care of it."

"Any idea how?" Curtis knew that Xander would be able to find a way out of it. Of course, if he kept trying to delay to find a more diplomatic solution the people upstairs may decide to just go in hard.

"A few." Xander shrugged. He could anticipate his partner's thought process. Lampkin was right. He had been trying to prolong it. To try to save them all. That wouldn't work for much longer. He had to produce results on that front. The good work he was doing everywhere else wouldn't be enough to justify just letting a hornet's nest sit in the middle of the country. "Basically I'm just getting the right people into position. Operational control's switched hands, so it's dealt with."

"And that's the best solution?" Curtis questioned. The younger man was nothing if not loyal. Even to those that didn't deserve it. Then again, it was why many of them were willing to work with him. He didn't leave his people behind. Ever.

"Maybe not," Xander admitted. "But Grainer's okay with it. So, it's the deal."

"So far," Curtis finished. He frowned. No doubt their boss had contingencies in place. Of course, that was something that both field agents would have known. They weren't necessarily bad people. Just misguided. And unwilling in places they needed to be. He could see why Xander was going to such lengths. The former FBI agent just wondered if it would end up being worthless. Or pointless.

Xander nodded. He tell what his partner was thinking about. He thought the same exact thing. "So far."

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Xander walked out of his office, having put his coffee cup back onto his desk. He slung his messenger bag over his shoulder on his way out. The door clicked behind him, automatically locking. There were still a few people milling around, but most ignored him as he headed towards the elevator. He hit the call button and waited for the car that would bring him to the bottom floor of the facility.

The elevator car opened after a moment, ready to take on more passengers. Xander stepped to the side as a couple of people walked out. One didn't walk out.

"Xander. I was just coming to look for you," Dr. Wesker said, momentarily surprised to see the man he had been going to find.

Xander checked his watch. He still had about ten minutes to get to the small airstrip located near the building. He didn't want to be late, but he still had some time. "What's up?"

"Do you have somewhere you need to be?" The scientist noticed that Xander seemed to be in something of a hurry.

"Kinda. You can walk with me to the hangar if you want." Xander stepped into the elevator. He hit the button for the bottom floor.

"Okay." Wesker nodded, stepping to the side to allow his co-worker space.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Xander questioned as the elevator car started to descend.

"We've finished the preliminary tests on the Icthyo Sapien you brought back." Dr. Wesker opened one of the files he had been holding. "The Russians gave us what they had, but it wasn't much. Gave us a start at least."

"Gage." Xander broke in.

"Excuse me?" Wesker looked up from his papers.

Xander looked at him. "His name is Gage."

"Oh. Right." Dr. Wesker didn't miss the mild rebuke in the field agent's voice. "Anyway, based on what we have so far, Gage's genetic structure only recently stabilized. That may explain why he isn't exactly how he was when he first changed."

"Is it permanent?" Xander asked, wondering how Gage was liking his new home. While not a prisoner, the hastily constructed tank couldn't really compare to the majesty of the open ocean. They would get a new, larger one put in, but that would take time.

"Uh, I don't know," Wesker replied. He consulted another page. "We need to replicate the mutagens that were involved in changing his DNA in order to get an idea of what we need to change back. We haven't even started on a retrovirus to overwrite the DNA of a test subject based on the mutagens. Not to mention applying that to humans, and then creating a retrovirus to reverse the genetic change. We're starting from scratch here on the actual work."

"So, it's going to take a while." Xander frowned. It wasn't what he would have liked, but it wasn't altogether unexpected. And the scientists down on the lab level were trying. That was something at least.

They reached the bottom level of the building and the door opened. Xander stepped out, walking towards the exit.

"Yeah." The scientist nodded. He followed behind Xander.

"You know, they're not going to keep letting you take home strays," Wesker remarked, coming alongside. "Taylor says that stuff like this isn't exactly covered in our budget. We only get to keep him because some of the mutated genes might prove beneficiary in the medical field."

"So you have anything else?" Xander ignored the statement. It wasn't a complete shock. His expenses had been a bit high of late. And like all those worker bees subject to a budget, he had to justify his own existence.

He handed his identification to the security guard at the front. After he was cleared he stepped to the side of the guard station to wait for Wesker to be cleared too. Tight security. A pain in some ways, but it was better to be overly cautious than have to face what would happen if they were too lax. The lessons of the Initiative facility underneath Lowell House were well learnt. The less than secured computer controls that opened the specimen cages to the lack of trained security personnel to quell attempted breakouts were a thing of the past. Nobody got in or out without being authorized and cleared.

And the guards were well versed in taking out any creature that might try to do something less than friendly.

"Yes. Quite a bit actually," Dr. Wesker said as he walked forward. Xander walked towards the door and the scientist followed.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense." Xander opened the door and allowed the doctor to walk out first. He followed behind out onto the sidewalk. They went around towards the side, heading to the small hanger that housed the civilian craft that were kept on site. The military aircraft were held below ground.

"Right. Well, we've done some tests on his capabilities and we're seeing a real amalgam of all sorts of sea creatures. A real chimera. We are looking at quite a unique creature, er person." Wesker corrected himself. "Gage is capable of high speed travel through the water. He has lungs, but he also has a pair of functional gills. He can stay underwater indefinitely. And he can dive into the abyssopelagic zone."

"The what?" Xander broke in. He stopped at the edge of the building and looked along the street in both directions. Making sure it was clear he walked across. "You know, let's pretend that you're talking to someone that barely based biology class."

"Uh. Okay." Dr. Wesker thought for a moment, wondering how to translate into layman's terms. "He can swim really deep. And his body has all sorts of characteristics to allow for it."

"Like what?" Xander questioned. They were nearly at the hanger.

"He can see into the infrared part of the visual spectrum." Wesker started to list the fish man's capabilities. "He has a really low metabolism, but his body is so efficient that it doesn't limit his strength and stamina. Some other stuff relating to his body chemistry and capacity to deal with varying pressure. Anyway, its all pretty amazing stuff."

"Okay." Xander nodded. "How's the egg?"

"It seems healthy." Dr. Wesker switched to another of his files. "Doesn't seem to need much water. There's liquid inside of the outer shell. Affected by electromagnetic energies it seems."

"You know what's inside?" Xander asked. The last part of the doctor's synopsis may have explained the machinery that Gage and the other had targeted at the harbor.

"It looks vaguely human." Wesker tried to keep it as understandable as possible. "Essentially a smaller and less developed form of your former classmate."

"Right. You ever figure out how he had, you know..." Xander trailed off, not really wanting to go down that path.

"Like many deep sea fish and other sea creatures, Gage is a hermaphrodite. Or is now one," Dr. Wesker explained. "My theory is that he mated with one of the others you mentioned. We'll have to wait until it hatches before we can find out."

"Okay." Xander didn't know exactly how to take that. He didn't really want to think about fish man sex. Or fish hermaphrodite sex.

"So, exactly what is my priority here?" Dr. Wesker asked after a moment. "Given the egg's development, it's likely to hatch within the next two months. Where's that going to leave Gage?"

" Just keep working on trying to cure him." Xander reached the door to the hangar and opened it. "That's what you're after, remember?"

"Okay." Dr. Wesker nodded.

"We'll worry about whatever comes out once we have more options for him." Xander wondered what Gage really wanted. The fish man may have wanted a cure a week ago, but if the egg was to hatch, he may want to stay in his current form to care for it. Of course, ultimately it would be his choice. If they could even find a cure. "I'll see you latter."

"Okay," Wesker replied, not sure exactly what to say to that. "See you."

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Xander opened his eye at the sound of his ringing phone. He dug it out of his pocket and looked at the caller. Though it didn't say so exactly, it was Richard. "How'd things go?"

"Fine," Richard replied, not really expecting a greeting. He would only have called for one thing. "I have what you asked for. I can bring it to you. There's something we need to discuss."

Xander checked his watch. "I'm still a bit early. If you can meet me at the corner in about twenty minutes, we can talk there."

"Okay," Richard responded. He hung up the phone.

Xander closed his cell phone and put in the pocket. He glanced outside the window, noting that they were taxiing up and had almost reached the Cleveland hanger. He would be out of there soon.

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"What do you mean you're not going to come?" Buffy shouted into the phone.

"Yes, well I can't come. I can't be any clearer than that," Riley repeated himself. He had gone through a number of emotions during his walk back to his house. Anger. Sadness. Grief. The army captain didn't even know why he felt some of the things that he had. The targets also shifted. Sadness that he would have to let down Buffy. Anger that she had put him in that kind of position. Anger at Xander for his words. But, finally acceptance of what had happened. Of course, it had taken a number of days. Which was why he had waited to call until now.

That understanding did allow him to fully see what Xander had done. It had been a threat. Of sorts. That had only been the surface though. The depth of it, something he understood now, was completely different. It was as much about the words spoken as the ones not. Matheson not having his back anymore. His actual crime, and the evidence that pointed to it. Xander wasn't lying. And if Xander wasn't lying about that, then it was extremely likely that he would have been willing to use that against him. If push came to shove. The fact that he didn't meant something. The fact that Xander had demonstrated his restraint when it came to his family meant something as well.

It meant that at the end of the day, as much as any man like them could, they were friends.

"Look, it's besides the point. I can't get leave to join you anyway. And I don't have the access to officially bring him in. It's a moot point. There's nothing here for you. Not anymore." Riley sighed. Talking to Buffy was like talking to a brick wall. She was strong. But, for her that also meant stubborn. "And don't come down here. You won't be allowed in, and I get the feeling you're not going to like the attention you'd get if you tried to break in."

"Did Xander come down?" Buffy snapped, clearly wanting an explanation.

"Not the point." Riley tried to avoid answering the question. After Xander had left, he had been called to the commander's office. The general had suggested, in more or less certain terms, to keep Xander's presence a secret. In fact, he had been thoroughly encouraged make sure he didn't talk about Xander, or what he might have been doing there. And finally, he had been given a letter. From some very influential people on the Hill. Enough to get him started if he decided to leave. A parting gift from an old friend. "The fact is that I see no reason to go after him. And, if you want us involved, then you're going to have to go through official channels. I work for the government remember? If you have anything on him, any evidence it's going to have be subpoenaed. Witness statements taken. And I don't think you want this dragged out into the light of day."

"He got to you didn't he," Buffy said, not fooled for a second. She wondered how Xander had gotten to her ex-boyfriend. And how he knew to approach Riley in the first place.

"Look. The bottom line is you're asking me to commit a federal crime. And you know what, you're not worth it." Riley ignored her tone. "We have history, and for that, I listened to you. But, there are other voices out there. And all I'm getting from those on the outside isn't that Xander needs to be stopped. He may not be on your side. But, that doesn't mean he's on the wrong one. If you continue this, I hope you know what you're doing. Because, I get the feeling that he's willing to push a lot harder. Don't come near me or my family again."

Riley hung up without a goodbye.

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Richard waited for Xander to come up to him. He had been holding onto the box for the last ten minutes. He was just glad that it wasn't a hot evening. The coolant wouldn't have lasted that long if it had been warm out. And the Faerie would not have enjoyed the smell. He'd had to take it in the past. It hadn't been pleasant then. And it wouldn't now.

"Hi," Xander said, walking up to the Faerie. He noted the serious expression on the warrior's face. "Is that it?'

"Yes." Richard looked around, making sure that nobody was there. He waited until Xander had walked up close before taking off the top of the cube-shaped box.

The human looked inside, keeping all emotion off of his face. It was what he had been waiting for. Confirmation of the Immortal's demise.

He pushed down any glee he might have felt. It was justice. Not personal. He couldn't allow it to be.

"I guess that's it." Xander took another look at the Immortal's head. A grimace of extreme pain was still on the face. Etched there for all time. Well, until it decomposed. Xander still didn't react. He'd seen worse death than that. To vastly less deserving people. "Did he give anything up before he was retired?"

"A fair bit of information." Richard replaced the top, making sure it was firmly closed. "We're still combing through everything. We have seized all of his assets that we could. There was some still in transit that we were able to recover. Some lives saved."

"Good." Xander nodded. "Anything else?"

Richard dug a small box out of his pocket. He passed it over to Xander. "Your watch back."

Xander put the box into his shirt pocket, not bothering to check it. "Thanks. He give anything up I might want to know about?"

"Yes. The woman that we were looking for that had turned the young Council member into an asset. Thomas gave us the name as one of his colleagues. And we've taken her as well." Richard took the box to his car, opening it and depositing it onto one of the seats.

"Allegedly." Xander followed the Faerie. He leaned against the car and smirked.

"Not anymore." Richard turned around to face his friend. "She was turning him. He gave you up in Mexico. Amongst other things. Evidently, the young Wells was a particularly easy target. Not even any compulsion charms necessary. A little bit of flirtation and he was willing to sell your world out."

Xander frowned. Loose lips probably killed more good men than any demon could. "Is there a mastermind or was she working freelance?"

"Information broker. For the highest bidder. Retainer for the Immortal only. Well, not anymore," Richard replied. He had made sure of that. Faerie justice at its most efficient and harsh. "I'll send you the transcripts. For Thomas as well. You know, your man's a liability."

"Yeah." Xander did not look pleased. He wasn't surprised. But, it did not make it any easier to have confirmed. It wasn't that he liked Andrew, quite the opposite. But, he didn't think that he was that stupid.

"You want me to do it?" Richard asked, mistaking Xander's less than pleased expression for something else. He may have lived a long time. And he may have more experience with humans than most of his kind, but that didn't mean he could anticipate them. Nor could he always tell what they were feeling. Or thinking.

"No. That would open up too many questions. Especially since it's public knowledge that I'm not one of his fans. And I've already shown my willingness to take human lives." Xander shook his head. "Besides, I have something else in mind."

"Okay." Richard walked around to the driver's side of his rented car. He opened the door. "Let me know if you find anything I need to know."

"I will," Xander replied. "You going home now?"

"Yes." Richard reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pendant. It was a deep blue moonstone set in silver. He lay on the top of the car.

Xander picked it up and looked at the gem. He recognized it for vaguely for what it was. A badge of standing. He didn't recognize the specifics though. Xander looked up questioningly.

"Rank of position," Richard answered the unspoken question. "What you would consider major."

"That'll do." Xander placed the gem into his pants' pocket. "I'll see you later. Call me if you need to."

"I will," Richard replied. "And, let me know if you need any help on anything."

Xander looked his friend in the eyes. "I will. Thanks."

"Are you going to head inside now?" Richard nodded towards the apartment building that was just down the street. "It's safe, if you were wondering. He didn't give that up."

Xander glanced in its direction. The closest thing he had to home for the moment. Though mostly for who was inside. "Yeah, I got this thing. Have a good night."

"You too." Richard got into his car and drove away.

Xander watched him drive off for a moment before turning around and walking to his apartment.

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Amy didn't know how long she had been walking. It had been almost a week or so since she had brought the legion of demons out of the depths of their home. A week of creating portals to as far away as she could. Then walking to the next convergence of ley lines to boost her spell to the next waypoint.

From the jungle heat to the desert heat. It was getting monotonous. Still it was worth it. She was in service to a new religion. To bring back the old ways. The better ways. Change demanded sacrifice. And she would be a hypocrite if she only expected it from others. She was willing to give it her all. It was the least that Sekhmet demanded.

The young witch was constantly exhausted now. The power boosts she had received from the avatar of her goddess only carried her so far. Even with her perched on her left shoulder. The portals had been strenuous work. The cloaking spells to hide her movements were hard too. And she still had to maintain her tracking spell to home in on the energy source she was looking for. Still, the witch knew that she would be more than a match if she ever had to go up against Willow again. Willow had had power to spare. Power that she had not earned. Things were different for her. Her power was gained through devotion. Her complete committment to a higher purpose. Her faith gave her strength. Strength that was being tested now, but would not break. Would not waver. Not even in the face of such adversity.

She had made her way from the depths of the Amazon rainforest to Central America. From there she made her way into Mexico. And then into the deserts and plains of the United States.

North. Always north. Through Canada, and then finally to the United States again. Alaska.

Amy looked around. All she could see was the white snow and a few trees. It was a wasteland. She wasn't cold however. She had used a bit of her magic to create a shield against the weather.

She was close. So very close. She didn't know where she was. Or where it was. Only that she was nearby. And she would find it. She would find it very soon.

She had to.

She kept walking.

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Xander walked down the hall towards the door to his apartment. He was about halfway there when his phone rang. He sighed and pulled it out. It was Barnes.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Xander asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. It wasn't personal, but it had been a long day. And he had been steps from home.

"I keeping you from something important?" Barnes asked, rather bemused. Evidently, the kid still hadn't gotten it. Like protecting the country, protecting the world was a 24 hour a day job. They may not always be fighting evil, but they were still on call.

"I suppose I have a minute," Xander replied. "What's up?"

"I need to call in that favor." Barnes got serious fast. "Something's come up that I can't go through the official channels on. Naturally, I thought of you."

"Things have been pretty hectic. My schedule is pretty tight right now." Xander wasn't trying to talk his way out of it. He wouldn't do that when it came to what he owed. Besides, Barnes might come in handy in the future. Wouldn't do to renege on a deal now.

"Don't worry," Barnes replied. Despite what he said to Riccols back at the Pentagon, the Yemen situation wasn't an immediate concern. Though his data was less than complete, he knew that the package he wanted would not be accessible until near the time that it would be transported for operations. Still, it didn't mean he could dally. "It's not going to be for another couple of weeks. Just make sure that your schedule's open down about that time."

"I'll try," Xander said. "Can't make any promises, but I'll be ready if I can."

"That's all I ask." Barnes was satisfied. He knew that Xander wasn't trying to talk his way out of it. Like himself, the younger man would have all sorts of plates in the air. With a couple of more years under his belt, he might have even measured up to what the veteran Agency man could handle. "Really. Thanks."

"Okay. No problem. Bye." Xander hung up his phone. He looked at it for a moment. Wondering what he had gotten himself into this time. He shook his head, clearing it. There would be time enough to figure it out. Later. If he lived that long. He replaced the phone in his left pants pocket and started towards the apartment again, hitching up his bag higher onto his shoulder.

He reached the door and put a hand into his right pants' pocket to get his keys, fingers brushing past the cool stone that lay in there as well. He stopped for a moment lost in thought.

A lot of deals made to get to that point. A lot of sacrifices. Blood for blood. Life for life. And death for death. It was worth it. For nearly every reason that Xander had gone after it for. But, in the end all it gave him was the chance to stand up amongst gods and let them know that there were people down here. That they existed. And that they mattered.

The door opened, startling Xander out of his reverie.

Vi stared at him for a second, wondering what Xander had been thinking about. She smirked at him. "Lose your way?"

"Not anymore." Xander walked through the threshold.

The slayer closed the door after him, heading towards the kitchen.

Xander lay his bag on the coffee table in the family room. He headed to the kitchen, tempted by the smell of food on the small table there. "I thought we were going to go out to eat?"

Vi lit the candles on the table with a lighter then walked over and turned off the overhead light. The blinds had already been drawn earlier. It left the room in a warm yellow glow. "I wanted to surprise you."

"You didn't have to-" Xander tried to get out. It was rather domestic. Sweet in many ways. It touched him deeply. Surprised him to, since Vi was hardly the domestic type. That was usually his function.

"I wanted to." Vi broke in. She walked over to him and took him by the hand, bringing him to the table.

Xander took in the repast before him. There was some type of stuffed pork loin. And a seafood laden past dish. Stuffed mushrooms. And some kind of chocolate cake for dessert. It looked like it took some effort. "It looks great."

"Well, I did have a little help." Vi pointed to the kitchen counter towards a cookbook she had consulted in depth. Xander usually cooked when they stayed in. Culinary skills had not been all that valued in the Council. Not during her upbringing, and not now.

Xander walked to the table and pulled out a seat. Vi smiled at him and sat down. He walked around the table took the other seat.

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Xander woke up. It was still dark. He felt the sleeping slayer by his side; a comfortable weight. He slipped out as carefully as he could, making sure as to not disturb his girlfriend. He walked quietly out into the hall. Then down to the family room. He picked up his shoulder bag from the coffee table and walked back up to the hall.

Going back to the apartment wasn't a particular concern. While it had some protections, even more now, it could be found through both mystical and non-mystical means. He didn't worry about the Council making a move there. Robin had made sure they wouldn't try anything in a building filled with the innocent. It must have been infuriating for Buffy though.

She had probably wanted to march down there to get him herself. Of course, given his more than obvious combat abilities, and less than moral outlook on the lives of others, it would have been foolhardy. As Robin would have told them.

He reached the door to his workshop. Glancing back towards the bedroom, he unlocked all of the locks and opened the door. Xander walked inside, closing the door before turning on the light. He locked the door.

He walked over to the central table and cleared a space on it. Xander set his shoulder bag on the top and opened it up, taking out the contents. A few taped up packages of black paste. Two kilos worth of weight. On the street it wasn't worth as much as the powder coming up from South America. Maybe one half to three quarters of the value of an equal amount. Then again, the monetary value wasn't what he was planning to use it for.

Xander pulled out a pair of latex gloves and a packet of wipes from one of the table's compartments. He pulled on the gloves and pulled out a plastic bag from another of the table's drawers.

Taking out a wet wipe from the packet, Xander wiped down the smooth surfaces of the packs of heroin. He made sure to get every part of it, so that all fingerprints were removed. When he had finished each one he placed it into the plastic bag.

After he had finished all of them, Xander tied the handles of the plastic shopping bag together in a knot. That he placed back into his shoulder bag. He took off his gloves and tossed them in a wastebasket beneath the table. He tossed in the empty packet of wipes in there as well. His messenger bag stayed on the table.

He didn't know exactly why he had done it that night. In the middle of the night. Maybe it was his inability to sleep, too worried about the future. Or maybe it was a feeling of guilt pushing him to get things done as soon as possible. No, it wasn't that one at all. If he was true to himself, he didn't feel all that bad. Not bad enough to not be able to sleep nights. Of course, not feeling bad about it would be just another thing to feel bad about. If he allowed himself to let those emotions out.

Xander made sure everything was back in its place before he turned off the light and walked out of the room. He locked the door and headed back to the bedroom.

He walked in carefully, noting that Vi hadn't moved from her position. The slim amount of street light coming through the windows between the blinds seemed to surround her in an unearthly glow.

Xander stood at the foot of the bed, watching her sleep for a moment. He saw her chest rise and fall peacefully in a steady rhythm. He sighed quietly to himself and climbed back into bed, trying not to disturb her.

Vi moved against him, unconsciously feeling his presence. Drawn to it. She moved closer to him and turned over, laying an arm over his body.

Xander looked down at her and placed a hand on her arm. It was all worth it. He closed his eye.

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Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Oh, and Shannon K, where was my story mentioned? It would be interesting to see how far it's traveled.


	57. Chapter Fifty Six

**Chapter 56: The Weekend**

Saturday…

Andrew drove down the street. He was heading to the grocery store, per his now usual schedule. At least it was now. The slayers went through a lot of food. So someone had to go down and get more every few days. It used to be a rotation of the older slayers. Or at least the slayers that could drive and could be relied upon to not buy all junk food. Not anymore though.

The light before him turned red and he stopped. He grabbed a handful of Cheetos from a bag on the seat next to him and poured them into his mouth, chewing noisily. It had been all Xander's fault. He used to have a key field position when it came to the Council. Now Robin was pushing him out. Making him do the food runs and other odd tasks. All administrative ones. He still had Giles' ear, but when it came to operations he didn't do much except look stuff up in books. Hardly a task befitting his obvious talents. It had not been a good month for the young demon hunter. And that beautiful young lady that he had kind of gone out with a few times who had been charmed by his stories had just up and left. Without a word. She'd simply never shown up again. Definitely not a good month.

Andrew watched as the traffic light turned green. He started his SUV forward, careful of any cross traffic. It wasn't really necessary, since the shortcut he had taken was through a string streets bordered by many empty buildings. Nobody went down there anymore. He hadn't traveled more than twenty feet when a police cruiser came up behind him and turned on its lights. He hadn't even noticed it come upon him. The sirens sounded once, indicating that he should pull over.

Andrew pulled his car over to the curb. He rolled down the window and turned off the engine. He didn't panic; sure he could charm his way out of whatever trouble there had been. After all, it had to be some mistake. He was pretty sure he hadn't been speeding. And there was no other reason to pull him over.

A uniformed officer got out of the car. His partner got out as well, staying a step or so behind in a cover position along the other side of the stopped vehicle. He had received a call from dispatch to look for vehicles matching a certain description in the area. And low and behold, it hadn't been long till they had found one.

Officer Garnett carefully approached the SUV. He had seen a young male driving. Hadn't looked all that twitchy, but looks could be deceiving. People had an extraordinary range of reactions when it came to being stopped by the police. He reached the open window and looked inside. "License and registration."

"What's this about officer?" Andrew pulled out the asked for items, handing them over with a smile. Still trying to be charming.

"We received a call to look for cars matching this description." Officer Garnett looked through the papers. Andrew Wells. A recent Ohio driver's license. And a valid registration. It seemed legitimate. "Mind if I search your vehicle?"

"No problem," Andrew replied, trying to appease the officer. He unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. Not noticing the officer tense. They were on the same side of things. Both fighting their respective evils. No reason for the Council member to not help the police.

"Please come this way." Officer Garnett directed the shorter man over to his cruiser. He motioned for his partner to start the search.

Officer Jackson started with the trunk. The stereotypical place that most tried to carry things. It amazed him that even with his short time on the job so far, that so many tended to carry things of a less than legal nature in there.

He started to root around, making sure that there was nothing in there that would prick him. There were only some bags of groceries. The young policeman took them out and placed them on the curb. He pried back the carpeted base, wanting to look through the spare tire's storage compartment. There wasn't one in there. A spare tire that is. Something else was taking that space. A couple of bricks of some hard paste. Jackpot.

"Leo." Officer Jackson looked up at his partner. He nodded over to the driver of the SUV, and then glanced at the trunk. Letting his partner know what was going on without alerting the other man.

"Mr. Wells." Officer Garnett lay a hand on his gun and turned to Andrew. "Put your hands on your head and turn around."

"What's this about?" Andrew nearly squeaked. He turned around, shaking a bit. He raised his hands as well.

"Quiet." Garnett told him. He mirandized the other man, handcuffed him, and placed him into the back of the squad car. After he made sure the suspect was secure he walked over to where his partner was.

"Check it out." Jackson hefted one of the small packs up. It was taped up, but the contents were clearly visible through the clear plastic. Heroin. "Looks like about two kilos worth."

"Dealer weight. What we were looking for." Officer Garnett allowed himself to smile. It had certainly been a good day. He glanced back towards the suspect in his squad car. Well, a good day for some.

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Andrew sat in the metal chair nervously. He had been left alone in the interrogation room for a couple of hours. To sweat most likely. He had been handcuffed, stuffed into the back of a squad car, and then dumped into the room. It had certainly come as a shock to him.

He was starting to panic. It was nothing like all of those cop shows he had seen on tv. Well, it was, only he never thought he'd be in the place of the guy getting questioned hard.

Andrew jumped in his seat when the door opened. He watched as a brown suited man entered the room. He was in his mid forties with a large mustache and a grim disposition. Two other men followed him in. Men in black suits. One was in his forties. The other looked to be in his thirties. They had equally grim dispositions. The younger of them was carrying a brown paper bag.

"Mr. Wells," The older man in black stated. "I'm Agent Barrett. DEA. This is Agent Johnson. Department of Homeland Security. We have some questions for you."

Agent Barrett looked at the police captain that had led them into the room. "Thank you, Captain. We'll take it from here."

The police officer nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Andrew watched as he left. He felt a part of him drop deep inside when the door seemed to slam shut.

Agent Johnson drew back a seat from the large metal table that was in the center of the room. He smiled darkly as Andrew jumped a bit at his action. He set the brown bag he had been carrying on the top of the table. The government agent sat down.

Agent Barrett stepped around the table and leaned down, placing a hand on Andrew's shoulder. Trying to calm the younger man down. "Mr. Wells. I'm sure they've told you why you've been brought in."

Andrew nodded. "Yeah. Something about drugs in the car. But, I swear. I had no idea that they were in there."

Johnson smiled at the man. He spoke in soothing tones with a hint of an accent in his voice, "That still doesn't explain how it got into your vehicle. Perhaps you could explain that to me."

"Wait, don't I get to make a phone call? A lawyer?" Andrew thought about what tv shows he had seen. Grasping at all the stray bits of memories from the stories that formed his perspective.

"Andrew. Can I call you that?" Agent Barrett chuckled. "Look, I trust you. I'm sure you had no idea where the heroin came from. But, you know what? You really don't want to ask to make a phone call or to see a lawyer. You see, right now you're just a person of interest. Questioned in regards to a suspicious situation that has come to light. You make your phone call. You request a lawyer, and then you get entered into the system. You become a suspect. And you'll be found guilty because it will be so very easy for a young eager DA to make a case out of you. An easy win. You'll go to jail. Two kilos of black tar heroin. That's possession with intent to distribute. Now, do you want to go down that route?"

Andrew shook his head quickly.

"Okay then." Agent Barrett walked around the table and took a seat by the other agent. "Now, we believe that you didn't know about the drugs. But, the information that we have says that if that's true, then the most likely place that it could have come from is that nice house you live at. You know, the one with so many young women?"

Andrew visibly reacted to that. He didn't say anything though.

The DEA agent smiled. He nodded to the man seated next to him. "Yes, we know about that."

Agent Johnson got up and walked over to the corner closest to the one-way mirror set into the wall. He reached up and unplugged the video camera hanging from the ceiling. He returned to his seat.

"And we know about the slayers." Agent Barrett leaned in close. Smiling at the look of shock on the young man's face. "Now, we figure that where there are drugs there are other elements that we tend to want to investigate. And a lot of young women of some kind of power with an older man of authority…well, I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions. And why the man to my right would be involved. You see, cults and the like tend to get classified as domestic terrorism now days."

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." Andrew tried to get out. He had lost his calm demeanor. His cool. He tried though. As poorly as it was attempted, he still tried. "It's just a school for girls with special needs."

"Andrew. I'm trying to help you here," Barrett said. He glanced over at the other government agent. "So, don't lie to me. You see, we all know what's going on. The demons. The witches. The slayers. There are no secrets here. I know, slayers. Protecting the world and all that. I don't care. We don't care. What we're concerned about is that some large congregation of such is located here in Cleveland. And it looks like there's some large amounts of drugs flowing in and out. That type of business is something we tend to get worried about. I'm sure you understand and want to help us get to the bottom of things."

"But…I," Andrew tried to sputter out. He started to fidget. The revelation that the government agents knew about the slayers was a bombshell that blow through his weak defenses.

"I get it. You're not involved." Barrett tried to calm the other man down. "But, the thing is, that we've been looking at your place of residence. The property taxes on that thing must be pretty high. And as far as we can tell, none of you have any sources of income. In fact, none of you have filed a tax return for the last year. So, if you're so sure that there's nothing going on, why don't you tell me how you've been getting your money?"

Andrew opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Okay." Agent Barrett said. He leaned back in his chair. "Okay. I believe you. You don't know anything. But, I think maybe this Mr. Rupert Giles does. Or maybe this Willow Rosenberg? In fact, our surveillance has picked up that one Alexander Lavelle Harris has been sighted on the premises. He has some serious weight on him. Heavy on the suspected but never indicted side of things. So, this is what I can do for you. You go in, and you get us information on whatever we want, and we let you go free. The first degree murder of one Jonathan Levinson never gets laid at your feet. And we will let anybody not guilty of a crime go free. Like Miss. Dawn Summers for instance. You get to fight your little war, and we take care of those that are doing things less than cleanly."

Andrew shook his head, trying to act defiantly. It didn't work though. The mention of one of the other members of the Trio was just another bombshell that he was ill-equipped to deal with. Still, he felt the need to try to protect the Council. Like a good little lapdog. Of course, like said dog, he didn't have much of a bite.

Agent Barrett sighed. He shrugged and glanced at the man next to him. Obviously, good cop wasn't going to work. Or at least, it wouldn't ensure the man's loyalty. "I'm sorry."

Agent Johnson bent his neck side to side, giving off some audible cracks. He opened the paper bag in front of him and pulled out a phone book. He placed it on to the table. He pulled out the next item from inside the bag. A small cut down baton which he laid next to the phone book. And next to that he put down a bottle of water, also from the bag. He carefully folded up the paper bag and put it on the floor next to him. He looked at Andrew after he had finished. The meticulous nature of his previous actions had obviously rattled the other man's nerves. As they were intended to. He looked Andrew up and down. Sizing him up. "You've got a pretty mouth."

"What?" Andrew blurted out, thrown out of silence by the non sequitur.

Johnson stood up and took off his jacket. He laid it onto the back of his seat. "You're small. Feminine features almost. They're going to love you in federal prison. Two kilos of black tar heroin. Intent to distribute. That's a felony. Hard time. They're going to love you in there. They're going to make you a bitch. Bottom bitch most likely. You'll probably be passed around like candy in there. They are going to fuck you up the ass. Or make you suck them off. Probably both at the same time."

Andrew opened his eyes wide in fear. He turned to the other government agent, as if for safety. The agent only shrugged, as if saying nonverbally that it was his own mess that he had gotten himself into.

"Don't look at him." Agent Johnson leaned in close, staring straight at the scared little boy in front of him. "You aren't dealing with him anymore. "You fucked that up already."

Andrew gulped audibly and turned back to the other government man.

"Now. We've tried to be friendly. We've tried to lay it out easy for you. But, you just couldn't give us anything. You piece of shit." Agent Johnson stood and picked up the phone book. He walked around the table and stood behind the young man. Andrew turned to look at him slowly. "Now, we're not leaving here until we get something. If that means you go down fully confessing for drug dealing, that's fine. Or if you want to give up something on the little domestic cult you've got stockpiling weapons, that's even better. So, let's begin."

Johnson swung the book right into Andrew's face. He watched the young man's head whip around at the blow and smack into the table.

Andrew groaned and picked his head up, wincing in pain. He looked behind himself fearfully. "You can't do this. I…I have rights."

Agent Johnson tossed the phone book onto the floor. He leaned over and picked up the baton. "You just don't get it do you. I'm the goddamn federal government. Department of Homeland Security, bitch. It's called the PATRIOT Act. You have no rights in this room. Now, get up."

Andrew grabbed his chair fearfully. It didn't work. The government agent pulled him off it and slammed him into the table. He fell forward, head and chest on the metal table. The young Council member could feel the hot tears start to fall down his face. He started to shake pitifully.

"Give me a name," Johnson shouted. He slammed the baton down on the table next to Andrew's head. "Harris. He's got one of those slayers going to his apartment. His own personal taste. Who is she? What's her name? Her name. What's her goddamn name? Give me what you got! Give me her name!"

Andrew clenched his eyes shut. He tried to keep his mouth shut as well.

"Fine then. Tough guy," Johnson sneered. He laid the baton down across Andrew's neck, holding the other man firmly against the table. He reached down with his other hand and unbuckled the other man's belt. "If this is the way you want to play it. Then you can get some fucking practice in."

"Vi." Andrew nearly screamed out. "Her name is Vi."

Jack McMillan leaned in. He whispered, "thank you."

He looked up at the one-way mirror. And nodded grimly. They owned him now.

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Xander stood in the dark and looked through the one-way mirror at the results of the scene that had just played itself out. He nodded back, though it was unnecessary. Jack certainly did good work. One of the reasons why he had been picked for the spot; aside from his obvious less than stable morality. The actually quite decent attempt at an American accent was a surprise though. The other man was Leander Smythe. Ex-Agency hard man. Picked up rather recently to fill out a spot on the new field team. Farmiga had had some concerns, but had passed him. He was certainly learning how the game was being played.

Xander picked up his cup of coffee from the table he was leaning against and took a sip. He glanced over at the man next to him. One of his bosses. The immediate one. "That do?"

Lampkin glanced at his field agent. It hadn't even been twenty minutes and Andrew had given everything up. He didn't know what he had expected. Maybe more. Then again, his own determination of the younger man had not been of someone that would have resisted hard interrogation nor even torture for very long. Not to say that he expected him not to break. Everyone broke. It was how long one did that mattered. No matter the circumstances. Andrew didn't exactly measure up.

He'd been through SERE. Passed it as was required. It wasn't easy. And it taught him that everyone had a breaking point. That only wannabes claimed that they would not break. Those that were in it knew better. Still, a quarter hour or so was not how long it should take to give something up. Especially given the stakes of the game.

Lampkin knew that the man next to him had been in a similar position. Only there had been more at stake. A choice to save his life by giving up the life of someone else. He had had an arm broken. Smacked around but good. And Xander had still held out. It hadn't been long, but it did say something about the man when he was still a kid. And that hadn't even been half of what he had been through lately.

"He's flipped. That works for me," Lampkin spoke quietly. "It's done. It's time for you to go back to work."

"If you say so," Xander replied. He didn't feel bad about what had just gone down in that room. He'd obtained the means, planned things, and set the whole arrangement into motion. Made sure the right things were found at the right time by the right people. He supposed that he should have some qualms about it. Andrew had not intended to give them up. To betray them. That earned him some pity.

It was a frame job. A con. A scam. Dirty cop work any way one sliced it. Immoral as hell to get right down to it. As evil as any demon or devil's work.

Still.

End of the day, Vi's name had been spoken aloud in that room.

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Sunday…

"Good job." Faith walked onto the mat. She had just watched two of the slayers spar. Chao-Ahn and Satsu were fighting with wooden swords. Training. Very hard training. A learning experience for them. For them all.

It had been a demonstration for the other slayers. Not so much that the old ways were the best ways, but more a showing that their unique set of circumstances made them ideal weapons handlers. And that it paid to know them. That there may be a time when a wide range of knowledge would be necessary. It wasn't meant to be a show of what the others would become.

Of course, Satsu was likely one of the best blade wielders in the world. And, Colleen was quite the shooter. Just because they could take up weapons more easily than normal people, didn't mean that they didn't have natural affinities with particular ones. Ones that could vary for each one. They were slayers, but that didn't mean they were all the same.

The two slightly sweaty slayers walked off the mat. They headed towards the back of the basement, leaning against the wall to cool down. The class before them kept their eyes on the brunette slayer in front of them.

"Okay. Any questions?" Faith asked. She took in the room before her. There were about twenty or so slayers seated. Most of them foundlings. Slayers they'd found after the mass calling. Most of them were pretty new. Less than a month or so in training. She knew all their names at this point.

"Why didn't Satsu use her sword more?" A pretty young slayer asked from her seat in the center of the crowd. "She just dodged most of the time."

Faith looked at her. "Good question Kara. I think I'll let Satsu answer that."

The class turned around to look at the Japanese slayer.

Satsu took a step forward looking at them. "How many of you know how a katana works?"

Nobody raised a hand. Not unexpected in the slightest. Slayers could pick up weapons rather quickly. But, that didn't mean that it was innate. It did take time and effort. Especially if they wanted to be more than brawlers, reliant on their strength and stamina to carry them. Which was a dangerous way to play things.

"Okay." The slayer continued. "Despite what you may have seen in the movies, a katana is rarely used sword on sword. You don't parry with it edge on edge. You use the flat, if you have to. In fact, as a general rule katanas are rather brittle. They are extremely sharp and prone to chipping and breaking if used to stop a blow from another sword. This isn't as true with modern combat-made katanas, but the ones that we have in the stores here don't have that advantage. You expect it to be extremely durable steel and you'll just see it shatter. Especially with the strength that we're capable of. That's why I evaded instead of blocked. Chao-Ahn was using a longsword. Training sword, but it operates on the same principle as the real weapon. It can handle the strain of blocking to a much greater degree. Katanas are used to slice through unarmored flesh. That's what they were designed to do. You'll be crosstrained in many weapons. Remember that they are not all the same. And they shouldn't all be used as if they are. Understand?"

Kara nodded. "What about yours?"

"Mine. Well, mine's special." Satsu smiled at the young slayer. She had taken a particular liking to the young Iowa born slayer. Had the making of a good slayer if she developed a bit more self-confidence. She was asking more questions though. That was always a good thing. "We don't have that many magical weapons here. Which is unfortunate. And the ones that we do have are already allocated to the primary combat teams."

"Okay," Kara said in understanding.

"Good," Satsu said, glad that the class was learning something. She remembered some of the "demonstrations" that Buffy had given during the short time that she had been in Cleveland. Using a bokken to block the blade of another as if that was correct form. It was obvious that the blonde slayer had never really used a real katana before. She had idly wondered if Giles had just bought some bokken from a local martial arts supply store and had simply assumed that Buffy could use them correctly. It had been stupid. And most of all, it had been dangerous since slayers in training had been observing. And supposedly learning.

Assumptions. It had all been on Giles' assumptions. That Buffy would be able to teach others to slay. That she even really knew the best methods herself. Assumptions that had gotten some killed. And would have gotten many slayers killed if some of the others hadn't stepped up.

"Do you think we could be that good?" Another slayer called out.

Satsu glanced at her, broken out of her reverie. "Maybe Susan. But, not all of you. That's not to say you aren't any good. But, I've been doing this longer than some of you have been alive."

Faith looked at the slightly crestfallen girl. "She's right. It's not about trying to measure up to any other slayer. You are all unique and will have areas that you excel at. Those won't be the same for every slayer. Don't think that just because you aren't as good with a sword as Satsu, or as good with a rifle as Colleen, that that means you're a bad slayer. There's a reason you work in teams now. You aren't alone. Remember that."

Buffy walked down the stairs into the basement. She hadn't been back long and had kept to Giles and Willow most of the time. Mainly to try handle Xander. Though part of it was what had happened in New York. With Vi.

Xander hadn't been back to the house in quite a while. And Willow, despite her magical endeavors had been unable to locate him. Though Buffy could tell that Willow's heart wasn't really in it. So that left her with very little to do now until they could figure out something else to try. Nothing to keep busy with. Except for the other slayers.

They tended to look at her differently. Like she wasn't one of them. Like she wasn't the Slayer anymore. She had to change that. Get back in her groove. And do something with her life. With her responsibilities.

She had heard Faith speak. She wondered if the other slayer had been in New York too. She still hadn't figured out who all of them had been.

Faith glanced behind her, noticing the blonde slayer. She turned back to the class. Her class. "Okay. That's enough of a demonstration. Talk to Eduard, he'll set up a schedule for your training. It'll be tough. Trust me. But, I think you got it in you. You guys can go now."

Buffy stepped to the side to let the young slayers pass. A few of them looked at her. Fewer of those smiled.

"What can I do for you?" Faith asked as Buffy came into the center of the basement. She started to clean the basement. Put all the equipment back. She noticed that Satsu and Chao-Ahn stayed there to help her. In more ways than one. If the need came. Oddly enough, she found herself hoping that it wouldn't.

"Well, I was wondering what you were doing with them?" Buffy said. She hadn't meant it to sound critical. Though it came out that way.

"Just giving them a taste of what they could expect," Faith replied as she piled some of the extra mats against a wall. She didn't really know how to react. They had their obvious history, but things were different now. They'd both had their try at leadership, which they both failed at. Buffy had left. And she'd stayed. Learned. And had another go at it. With Xander's help, along with a number of the other experienced slayers, she wasn't doing half bad in her opinion. "You know, figuring out how they're going to best fit into the mix. You have something to say?"

"I'm just wondering if you're the best one to be making those decisions." Buffy came up behind Faith. She ignored the other slayers still in the room.

Faith turned around. She took a breath and held it. In the past she might have reacted differently. "Yeah well, I figure I've done pretty well so far. So bully for me. Why? You think you should be the one doing this after your, vacation?"

"Well, somebody has to. And I hear you're teaching them to use guns?" Buffy frowned. That had been one of the things that she'd seen to it that they didn't do. Before she had left, she had mainly taught them what she had used. Things that worked. The watchers that had taken up teaching after she had left had done the same.

"Of course not. I'm nowhere near that good." Faith admitted. A shock in and of itself. "There are other trainers doing that. Colleen's quite the good shooter. She's taken a number of the other slayers under her wing."

"They shouldn't be-" Buffy started to say.

"Why?" Faith didn't need the question to be fully asked. Though it hadn't been her question originally. It had been the question asked that had spurred them to the current state of their combat tactics. A question asked by many. Answered by few. Some like Xander figured out the answers for himself. Others, like Simone, had been shot down pretty quick by the current administration. She aimed to change that. "We used to use simple pointy sticks to stab vampires. Up close and personal. We both took our fair share of hits. Now, vampires are more easily taken out. A tight grouping to the chest with wooden bullets that fragment. We still carry other weapons, since you don't want to be shooting when you're really near other people. But, it's a lot easier to kill something when he can't touch you. Fundamentals are important. But, keeping up with what the rest of the world has been using for the last five hundred years or so is something too."

"It's…it's not about that. I guess I should thank you for stepping in for me, but I'm back now." Buffy shook her head. "It's time the Slayer got back into things."

"And that's you?" Faith crossed her arms over her chest. Normally she would have gone into blows by then. So, it seemed like she'd grown as a person. "Way I see it, you showed what you had already. Couldn't hack it."

"Like you did better?" Buffy glared at the other slayer. "Way I remember it, you didn't do to well before. Walked right into a trap. Got yourselves all blown up."

Of course, Buffy failed to remember that she had told some of the other slayers that it could have been her that had made the mistake. Time had a way of making one remember the better parts of the past, and glossing over the bad.

Faith took a breath and held it. She resisted the impulse to react in a less than rational manner. Odd, that Xander had had that effect on her. "Yeah. Yeah I did. And I learned from that. I learned a lot of things while you were out there living it up."

Buffy was surprised at the admittance. She didn't know what to say. She shook her head again and took a step forward. "And I suppose you think that's all I've been doing?"

Faith shrugged. She may not have been the same wild child she had been in the past, but that didn't mean she still didn't have her rough edges. Hell, that was one of the things that defined her. "Out there living the easy life. Probably real easy to forgot. Forget about this fight. Forget about the girls that never made it out of Sunnydale. Do you even remember their names anymore? Or was that something else you walked away from?"

Buffy glared and clenched her jaw. She looked angry. She was.

"Are we supposed to fight now?" Faith asked, raising an eyebrow. She recognized the look in the other slayer's eyes. The flight or fight decision heavily weighted in the latter side. "Because the way I hear it, you already got your ass kicked. Still, if you want to go another round; I think I could have a go at knocking some sense into you. If you're still so up for a fight."

"I'm the Slayer. I'm the one in charge." Buffy stated, as if that ended things. Giles had backed her up on it. Brought her into the fold. Essentially gave her her old position back. Evidently, he hadn't told anyone about that. More likely just assumed that things would go back to how they had been.

"Not anymore." Chao-Ahn broke in. Buffy looked at her in bewilderment. Evidently she'd never learned that the Chinese slayer could speak some English now. Of course, she had been in the United States for over a year. It wasn't like the Asian slayer was an idiot.

"Thank you for the giving us the power," Satsu added, coming up beside Faith. She faced the blonde slayer, looking her in the eyes. "But, you didn't make us strong. We already were."

Faith glanced to the side at her and nodded. She turned back to Buffy. "This isn't a democracy. And this isn't a popularity contest. And Giles may be calling the shots up there, but that don't change what goes down here."

"What are you saying? You aren't listening to Giles anymore?" Buffy narrowed her eyes. It wasn't so much that Giles was supposed to be in charge. She had made the choice to give them the chance to be slayers. To be able to make their own decisions. But, Giles did have knowledge that the slayers wouldn't have. And he had been the most capable to lead in her absence. If one could call what she did leadership.

"I'm saying that Giles may decide what we fight. But, we're the ones that decide how we fight," Faith replied. "We're not on opposite sides. This isn't about you and it isn't about me. It's about what's best for them. And if you think that's you, then by all means take your shot. But, if you got aced by Xander, then how good do you think you could possibly be?"

It wasn't a slight towards Xander. In fact, the slayer was damned impressed by him. She'd heard what Vi and the others had said about him. The real stuff he'd done. She was sure there was some exaggeration, but there was truth there. What it did do was get Buffy to underestimate Xander. Which would be some amount of help to him. She owed him that much. More than that actually.

"This isn't over," Buffy stated. She didn't like how things had played out. Giles was certainly optimistic. She got the feeling that Xander had much more influence over the slayerse than the head watcher had thought. They'd have to figure things out differently now.

The blonde slayer turned around and walked back up the stairs.

"No." Faith shook her head, sadly. She may not have liked the other slayer much, but they had been allies. That should count for something. "I don't suppose it is."

Chao-Ahn and Satsu looked at each other and then back to the dark haired slayer beside them. Satsu laid a hand on the head slayer's shoulder.

Nobody needed to say anything.

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Author's Note: For the record, Jack only really hit Andrew once, and then held him down. The rest was mainly implied. Yes, the phone book was an homage to The Shield.

The sword stuff is cribbed from a couple discussions on a forum I frequent and wiki (yes, I know it's not really a valid source of knowledge). Basically on how wanked they are, and how incorrectly they're often portrayed. Though once you toss magic in there, it's different. It was also based on the short "training" thing that Buffy did with a few other slayers in the second issue of S8. I get the feeling that a lot of the combat aspects of Buffy were based on what Joss and the writers thought was cool looking or right, as opposed to what really works and is done. Hence why Buffy's fights on screen may look good (for TV) but apparently she's got horrible form. At least that's what people who know better than me say. And I can see their points kinda.

Thanks for the reviews.


	58. Chapter Fifty Seven

**Chapter 57: ****l'Urbe**

"There any reason why we're bringing him along?" Curtis nodded towards the back of the cargo plane. It was where the largest of the equipment they had brought with them lay secured to the floor. The one holding the live cargo.

Xander looked in the direction indicated towards a mobile tank that had been bolted to the plane. Gage was floating inside. Just drifting along a little bit, as content as could be expected in the small holding tank. It was something of a surprise. The trip, while not turbulent, still had its share of jumps and rough patches. Hell of a time to catch a nap.

He noticed that Faith seemed to be rather fascinated by the floating fish man. She had been looking at him for quite a while. Off and on at times, but still steady. At least since takeoff.

Xander had tried to make sure he talked to his former classmate when he got the chance. He didn't imagine that his tank was very hospitable, though he had made some requests to make it more homey. They let him walk around sometimes, along the halls and even out along the grounds. But, Gage would always be viewed as something of a subject at Level 6, though he tried to make sure that didn't happen to him. Maybe it was a certain affinity or kinship, or maybe it was because he didn't want to become someone like Walsh. Someone that only looked at lifeforms different from the normal as something that could be chopped up and used. He could imagine that there were a number of the people that pulled the strings that thought the same thing about the slayers.

"He volunteered," Xander replied, looking back across the aisle at his partner. He stretched out in his seat. They still had quite a flight in front of them. No use in being stiff when they got off. "Besides, I figure we might need him down there. If the city isn't in its usual pristine state."

"You think there's anything still down there?" Curtis asked. It was still about ten hours until they touched down. Then it would be a helicopter ride to bring them to the research vessel that would be their temporary home. At least for this stage of the operation. "How long has it been? A couple of thousand years? More?"

"Closer to ten or more thousand I'd reckon." Xander thought back the last couple of months. All the leads and dead ends. They were all coming into play. Some things that he was beginning to get a view of, though some still remained cloudy. "I'm thinking that it would explain some of the things we haven't been able to yet."

It had taken quite a bit of time to finally find what he was looking for. He was able to match the unique architecture of the Central Spire of Lemuria to the curves of the ocean floor. It looked to have been covered in quite a long time of odd growth and rock movement. Though that was strange given the rather short time in which it had been covered. Those SONAR shots had been time consuming, but ultimately worth it. He'd finally found the city. One of seven cities. The fourth of all the ones that he had been in. Well, in one fashion or another.

"What do you mean?" Faith broke in. She walked over and took one of the spartan seats that lined a small portion of the plane. The fish guy wasn't exactly that entertaining anymore. He just basically stayed there. And after about fifteen minutes in to the flight had just went to sleep. The mutate still drifted along, but it didn't really do anything. Amusing to watch, but only when there wasn't anything else going on.

"You think this is tied to what we were looking for?" Myers knew that they were getting close. He still didn't get all the levels of it, but he could see that his commander was getting there. The FBI man had done his research. Whenever he could he combed through the various texts that Cindy had recommended. Trying to figure out how that world worked. What he did know though, and which he didn't need the books for, was that it worked much like his own. The same evils that plagued the human world existed in the supernatural one. The only difference was that they tended to wear their monstrosity on their faces. At least, most of the time.

"The oni that Vinge tried to bring forth," Xander thought back to the thoughts he had had earlier in the flight. His attempts to find the connections between events. The threads that had brought them to this point. He felt that he was close. No guarantee, but he had learned to trust his instincts. They'd saved him more than once already. "It's a portal opener. That's the key. Lemuria's nearly impossible to get to now days. And I don't think that Sekhmet and whatever minions she's got have access to deep ocean submersibles. Or you know, some pretty nifty scientific tracking equipment. I figure she wanted Vinge to call up Valkaash'di, then have it open a portal directly to Lemuria's Central Spire. That's where the main archives are anyway. Bypass all the trouble we're going through and get to the nice chewy center. The rest of whatever it is that Sekhmet is trying to build. Her grand machine. If it's anywhere in there, it's got to be there."

"I don't recall any of that from the transcripts from McNally's interrogation." Curtis leaned back in his seat, and put his book on the seat next to him. It was an interesting line of reasoning. And he knew by now that it was most likely correct. Xander had that special way of figuring things out. Of finding connections that other people may have missed or glossed over. He had his unique way of seeing things.

"He didn't know that much. But, it makes sense. According to the research." Xander shrugged. "I could be wrong, but there's not much else down there that would be of interest to a millennia old goddess. The Lemurians had magic. Deep magic. Strong magic. If it's anything, that would be her target."

"Cindy agrees?" Curtis didn't think it was necessary, but it was always important to get all the perspectives.

"Yup." Xander grinned. "She was pretty impressed that this old noggin was the one that came up with it."

"Too bad she couldn't come down here," Curtis replied. It felt a bit off to have to rely on others outside the team. Not that they hadn't worked internationally before, but it wasn't because they had been down men. Or women as the case may be.

Of course, Cindy had her part to play in things. She had traveled up to Alaska with a few of the witches from South America that had come up to help them. Jack and a couple of the Beta and Epsilon guys went along as backup. Abby too. The Peruvians had started to move up from the Amazon, heading north. Their resident wizard had managed to detect the mystical wake that the army was putting off every time it ported. That type of energy signature could be masked, but the masking spell would break down faster than the signature. The army could be tracked by that, but it was slow going. And reliant on hope that it would eventually lead them to their target before the target reached its target.

Still the two pronged search was the best they could hope for on that front. Jesse had not been too much help on methods of tracking. That wasn't his role, and it wasn't like he had been a trained occultist or anything.

"I guess I do feel sort of naked." Xander admitted. "But, I figure all we really need to do is scope out the area and depth charge the ever loving heck out of anything that looks like its related. At least, if we do things the quick way."

"Is there a reason you decided to bring us along?" Faith added. She had followed along with most of the conversation. She had been briefed about it during the relatively short time that Xander had been working with the Council. She got some more once she found out the truth. But, the slayer still felt out of her depth on things. It was like the other two were nearly speaking another language.

Xander turned to the slayer. "Way I figure it, it'd be a good thing for you to get out in the world and see how other people are dealing with things. This should be strictly observation anyway. They're the ones that are going to be doing the heavy lifting. So nothing too strenuous."

"So what are we going to be doing then?" Faith questioned. She hadn't had much time to get briefed on the mission. It had basically been just getting to the plane and then flying to some army base to get onto another plane to head to a whole other continent. There had been more about how to move everything than about what they were going to be doing. It was rather astounding how much equipment they were bringing along. Especially compared to what the Council usually used.

"Recon mostly," Xander explained. "A sub's going to be sent down with a bot to check out the area. If there is anything with the same signature as what we're looking for, we check it out and see what we should do. Blow it if we need to."

"We're not going to try recovering anything?" Curtis cocked his head. Their mission profile had specified taking anything that could be useful. But, Lampkin had advised them to do what they had to do to make sure that things wouldn't come back to bite them in their collective ass.

"Our orders are recovery only if we deem it necessary or if it's safe. Or if it looks like it's going to blow up the world if we try fiddling with it." Xander turned to his partner. "There probably isn't going to be a power source, since we already have that. At least, I hope there's not a back up. Though, I suppose it wouldn't be charged if there were one. Thankfully."

"You think one's likely?" Curtis wondered what they would find down there. A whole underwater civilization. Waiting to be discovered. Like Atlantis. Or any of those magical places that made for decent B-movie settings.

"Probably not. If Sekhmet was and is so adamant about obtaining the crystal we recovered. Besides, the charging method wasn't exactly something someone would do as backup." Xander continued his line of thought. Trying to see how the puzzle fit together. "Too unsecured and public. Which means, that's probably the only one they got. Besides, according to Jesse, there's a reason that the army's out. A lot of manpower and conspicuousness to get at something they have a spare for. Naw, I figure it's something else. Hopefully everything else."

"Yeah." Curtis nodded. "I guess we're going to find out though."

"How did you even find out about this city?" Faith asked. It had been a question that had bugged her for a while. How he just talked about some mythical city that was spoken of only in legend like it was the next town over. More than that, everyone seemed to just take it for truth.

"Side trip when I was in Africa," Xander replied.

Curtis sighed. "Xander, tell her the truth."

"Okay." Xander smirked at the man. "If you say so."

He turned to the slayer, who was looking at him with a rather exasperated expression on her face. "I was doing this thing at the Great Pyramid. Had to go to the bottom. All the way down. There's a chamber. Long story short, there's a magic portal that leads to the seven cities of Heaven."

"The what?" Faith blurted out.

"Mu, Agartha, Shamballa, Thule, Lemuria, Avalon, and…and…" Xander turned to right. "What's the last one again?"

Curtis looked up. He'd heard the explanation before so he hadn't been paying that much attention and had turned back to his book. "Quivira."

"Right. Quivira. I always forget that one." Xander turned back to Faith. "Anyway, there was this demon that was porting around through the various cities trying to throw me off. I had to chase him down. Did you know, they have apes like the one in King Kong down in Agartha? They also have these giant mastodons down there. It's like the Flintstones."

"Now you're just messing with me." Faith looked at him skeptically. She didn't think he was lying, but it seemed so far fetched.

"Yeah." Xander grinned at her. "There ain't nothing there anymore. Just a bunch of dead cities and some books. Lemuria's happens to be the only one underwater. It used to be in some kind of air pocket, like a diving bell. But, it kind of got blown up. So, the whole damn thing's under the ocean at this point. Which is both good and bad for us."

"How do you know so much about it?" Faith was fascinated. A year of adventure and danger. And he was speaking of it so blithely. Like it was just another day.

"Crystal skull. They used to use them for teaching kids. I stumbled across one and it gave me the ten year old's version of the history of the world. Or the world that they knew." Xander said. "Didn't have time to bring anything back. At this point, it'd be pretty hard to get back to the cities given that the original portal's been depleted. Which is why we got to do this the hard way. And why I didn't know exactly where it is."

"Why didn't you tell us about it?" Faith wondered aloud, though she had a suspicion that she already knew the reason.

Xander chuckled darkly. "Yeah, that'd be a fast trip to the rubber room if I did that with Giles and the rest."

Curtis remembered that Xander hadn't told them at first either. For reasons more to do with the cities effectively being cut off and forgotten than any intent to deceive. That and he had been worried that they wouldn't have believed him. Though, when it had become clear that the cities were related, he had laid everything out for them. They believed him easily, something that had surprised the young man. That was the trust they shared.

"So now we go down there and save the world." Faith stated. Wondering exactly how much about the world she didn't know about. And how much of it the man in front of her did.

"You got that right." Xander leaned back in his seat. He looked out the window, watching the clouds go by. Somewhere down below, thousands of feet below, was the ocean. And below that was the City that may hold the answer to the question to how to save the world. Or end it. One or the other.

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"How many do you think support him?" Giles asked. He looked through the window of his office out onto the grounds. Some of the slayers were practicing on the grounds. He didn't exactly recognize what they were doing. They were simply moving back and forth through a set of white lines that had been painted on the ground. It looked like they were playing follow the leader.

"A lot." Buffy grumbled out. She slumped in her seat. After Faith's words, and the couple of slayers that had obviously shown support to the brunette, she had taken stock of the position she had. She'd lost quite a bit of ground. And Giles backing her wouldn't be as much help as she had thought. At least Willow was still with her.

"There's a number of watchers that back him as well." Giles turned around. He walked back to his desk and stood in back of it. "And witches and wizards. And where the bloody devil is Faith?"

"More than that I would think." Robin put in from his corner. He knew that he was less than trusted at the present time. Especially after his outburst last time. More so with the uncertainty he had displayed at their ambitions towards their old friend. At least they didn't know how he had gone to warn the man in question. "And last I heard, Faith is looking for Xander. You know how independent she can get. Didn't exactly trust you to be able to get a handle on him."

"He hasn't been here that long. I don't see how he could have gained the support of so many," Willow added. She sat straighter in her chair. "Why would so many people side with him?"

"You forget, I've seen in him. I've seen him in battle. And I've seen him lead." Robin looked towards the young witch. He could feel the uncertainty in Xander's oldest friend. There may be something there, but he knew that her first loyalties were towards the authority figure that had helped her hone her magic. As opposed to the one that had stopped her from destroying the world. "He leads from the front. Effectively."

"Weren't you supposed to be in charge in Arizona?" Giles turned to the watcher. He didn't know whether or not he should allow the other watcher to be there. But, at this point, he didn't have anyone that could replace him. Andrew may be promising, and had asked to take a more active role, but recent events with the slayers had demonstrated the wisdom in keeping the man in a less public position than head field watcher. Still he had advanced him to a point where Andrew could hopefully earn back some of his old status.

"Yes. But, that merely pointed out the obvious deficiencies we have in our field leadership," Robin remarked darkly. He'd had time to think it over. While he still didn't like what happened, he did understand the necessity of it. And how much Xander had tried to prevent having to take charge. They had been in over their heads and about a second away from losing them. And that was supposed to be a quiet mission. As it was, it was a blessing that they had not had to handle anything too large and had mostly contented themselves with the minor threats that the city faced. Many of the slayers were getting antsy though. Small scale skirmishes would not appease them forever. "The slayers won't tolerate only allowing watchers to lead. Not after Vi and her bunch. And not after Germany. They're already forming their own teams after the one she's in. And the watchers can't all be like Eduard. Remember, they remember who was in charge in Germany. And who put him in charge."

"So what are you saying?" Buffy felt outrage mixed with pride. She had always done things her way; ignoring the watchers when she wanted to. But still, the slayers' new methods were hardly to her liking. "We should just let him do whatever we want?"

"I'm saying that if you make a move, you best do it in the dark. In his back. And you best make sure that when you strike, you kill him with the first blow. Cause that's the only way you're going to stop him." Robin stared at the slayer. He grinned at her darkly. The watcher remembered her feeling towards the vampire. It was ruthless in its way to ignore his feelings. But, that, that came from a very different sort of place than what Xander had. Codependence for her. The fire in Xander's heart though. That resulted in something else entirely. "But, that only stops the man. What he represents is another thing entirely. He gives them true power. Not just having the power of being a slayer. He gives them choice. Freedom. And that's something much more difficult to destroy."

Robin chuckled. He couldn't tell them that he felt the pull of that freedom of choice as well. It was enchanting in its own way. Of course, in doing his part to protect the slayers, and by extension Xander, he had to make sure that what he said didn't make his true loyalties known. It was like having to deal with the superintendent all over again. "And the worst part, for us, is that it will still get out. They'll know. And they'll want blood. Ours. You have the name of every slayer, witch, wizard, and watcher that might want to decide to back him? Cause if we don't, then we best sleep with one eye open for the rest of our probably very short lives."

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"Pan over to the left." Xander leaned into the microphone. "No, the other left. Now up. That's it. Zoom in on the wall."

The image on the video screen in front of them moved over and zoomed into the object that Xander indicated. While one might have expected it to be blurry, it was extremely clear. The newest generation of video systems that had been installed on the deep ocean submersible meant that Xander didn't even need to go down there in order to be able to find his way around. As long as the pilot did what he told him.

"Okay." Xander identified the remnants of the engraving on the wall as an icon of a reptilian humanoid. Some scoring marked its face. It meant they were close. "That's good. Take the first left, then go forward about two hundred yards. There should be a tunnel that should take you under the Central Spire. The main vault should be located there beneath the tower."

The submersible started moving again, following Xander's direction. It would take a couple minutes since the condition of the city was less than intact. Two hundred yards in clear water wouldn't take long. Two hundred yards in an obstacle course of fallen rock and twisted metal was something else entirely.

He leaned back and picked up his cup. He took a sip of coffee and looked over to his right. Faith was watching the screen, and looking rather bored. Xander grinned at her. "Having fun yet?"

Faith rolled her eyes. She had been initially impressed by the sheer scale of things. The number of people on the ship. The group of commandos that had escorted them around. The scientists and technicians that had installed the equipment that they had brought along with them. And after a couple of days all it led them to was a small dark room where they were watching television. "Oh yeah. This is real great. So worth the trip."

"Well, I hear the cook makes a killer vindaloo," Xander replied, taking another drink. He grimaced. Evidently the cook wasn't so good at brewing coffee. "Best I've ever had. Though I'm more a fan of chicken tikka masala myself."

Curtis sighed. He looked from the screen he was monitoring and turned to the other two Americans in the room. "Chicken tikka masala isn't Indian."

Xander chuckled. "Close enough. There was that place in Portugal remember? I defy you to say that that wasn't authentic."

"If you say so." Curtis grinned back. "I still say that that little corner restaurant in Istanbul makes the best vindaloo. Even Jack agrees with me."

"Yeah. A guy whose native cuisine is cabbage and potatoes. That really supports your theory." Xander chuckled aloud, turning from the screen for a moment.

Faith looked back and forth between the two. Feeling out of place. "Okay. Now that you're done playing Iron Chef, why am I even here? Or you for that matter."

"What do you mean?" Xander turned back and noticed that the sub still had a ways to go. He turned to the slayer. "You're here to observe. Remember what I told you on the plane ride over here? I figure some exposure to how other places do these things would be useful. Think of it as an exchange program."

"Okay. Then why are you here?" Faith asked.

Xander looked at her quizzically. "As opposed to being where?"

The slayer pointed to the monitor. "As opposed to being out there?"

"I don't follow?" Xander looked at the screen again. He pulled the mike closer to him. "Okay. Go through the tunnel, make sure you don't bump into anything. It should be a straight shot to the vault. I don't think there's any security left, but you should have Lakshmi run a scan first before crossing the gate. Let me know."

Xander turned back to the slayer. "Is there something strange about this?"

"Yeah," Faith said. She pointed towards the screen again. "If you're running this thing why aren't you down there?"

"It's a three man crew." Xander explained. "You got the pilot, the tech for the sensors and the bot, and the witch they have to run the mystical sweeps. I can't pilot, run the scanners, or do the magic. So I got no business being down there. I can direct them fine from video, so there isn't a reason to replace one of them with me. There wasn't time for any crosstraining. I'm unnecessary."

Xander noticed Faith less than understanding expression. "Don't get me wrong, I'd have loved a chance to go. I mean, exploring the ocean's depths in a submarine, that's all kinds of cool. And that's not even considering it's a lost city out there. But, that's not what we're here for. Maybe some other time. You know, if it's still there after we're done."

"But, aren't you in charge?" Faith tried to express what she was thinking. It was rather odd seeing the normally take charge Xander take a back seat. He let the captain of the vessel call all the shots, only adding in suggestions as to where to store everything, including the fish guy. It was different from how it was back home with the Council. Or even back in Sunnydale when Buffy was in charge. In those days, being the leader meant always being there. Leading the troops.

"Look. It's not about being in charge. And that's not even considering that we aren't in charge here. This is an Indian operation with American support. As consultants and advisors. We're not here to do this for them. We're here to help them with the intelligence we've gathered," Xander thought about how best to explain it. While Faith wasn't stupid, she was still new to the official international collaboration that had become rather standard in the time he had been with Level 6. "It's about the proper application of force. You think I'm not leading? I beg to differ. This is the very essence of leadership."

"What do you mean?" Faith knew she was hearing another lesson. And from her experience she knew that it was better to try to learn it. Something she knew that the others hadn't grasped yet. Not all of them anyway.

"Lao Tzu once said that superior leaders get things done with very little action. They give instruction not through a lot of words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere as little as possible. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they were not there, when they succeed they take no credit. And, because they take no credit, credit never leaves them. Or words to that effect. That's the idea any way. Buffy had goals. She took leadership, though in truth we did kind of thrust it upon her. Still, she could have turned it down. The problem with what happened is not only her method of leadership. She demonstrated through deed her capacity for leadership. A capacity that was wanting." Xander noticed that she didn't really seem to get it. "Okay. I read when I get the chance. It comes down to this. It looks like I'm so good because I surround myself with people better than me. Cindy's a kickass witch with real combat experience. Paul's an honest to God knight. That's not to mention his own sort of magic. Curtis there has a decade in the FBI. That's investigatory training as well as some fighting skills. That's not counting his deuce in the army. Abby's a slayer. But, also trained by a marine since she was a kid. And Jack. Well, Jack backs me when I need him to. And has methods of sheer craftiness that I can't even begin to touch."

"Don't count yourself short, Xander." Curtis broke in. He knew his commander's self-effacing nature well. "You do contribute."

"Okay. What I got. I got better than average shooting abilities. I can whip up tactical plans. I can sometimes see things others can miss. That, and I'm a cheat. That's most of it." Xander admitted. "But, in the end I have people to bring their strengths to make up for the things that we lack alone. Together we are strong. That's the bottom line. That's what leadership is."

"And you expect me to be that?" Faith felt overwhelmed. She knew some of the capabilities of the people that Xander had on his team. But, to hear them exactly laid out made them all the more impressive.

"No," Xander stated. "I expect you'll find the place you need to be in. But, it's your actions that will decide what that is. Leadership's not position. It's action and inaction. And right now they all look up to you. Robin, Eduard, Linda, Vi, Colleen, Satsu, Monet, they'll back you. They'll help you with the areas you might not be as strong in. But, that's what they're there for. This is a team sport. It's not Buffy and the slayers she commands. And it's not Faith and the slayers she leads. It's Faith and the people who follow her. You're a symbol as much as anything. That gives you power you may not think you have. But, trust me, you have more allies than you believe."

"I don't know if I can…" Faith struggled to get out the words. She may have confidence. She may even be able to lead in a fight. Still, to have to do without a safety net of the Council members above her was something else entirely.

Xander turned to the screen. The sub was almost there. "There's one more thing. Your people are strong, they just need someone to show them the way. Have faith in them. And they won't let you down. Trust them. Trust yourself."

He grasped the mike, ready to give his next order.

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Buffy watched as Kennedy finished toweling off. Willow's girlfriend had just finished working out alone in the basement. Which was good for her.

"You want to say something?" Kennedy glanced at Buffy over her shoulder. She had mixed feelings about the recent return of the wayward slayer. On the one hand, Buffy hadn't been bad after Sunnydale, though leaving hadn't helped things. On the other hand, there was always what happened before. And there was Xander to add to the mix. Making the situation all the more complicated. She had heard from Willow what had happened, and the reasons for the Council's reactions. There was sound grounding for it, but there was also the fact that she couldn't find anything tactically unsound with Xander's choices. Despite how unseemly they were. Of course, she hardly expected Buffy and Giles to understand that. Even Willow no longer got into the thick. It was one thing to criticize in some conference room after the fact. It was quite another to have to face those choices when the blood was still warm and spilling. "You look like you have something to say."

"I'm back to stay," Buffy replied simply. She didn't know exactly how she should act towards the other slayer. All she really had was the fact that Kennedy was Willow's girlfriend. There wasn't much feeling between them besides that. She hadn't exactly taken the time to try to build a rapport with the sometimes bratty young slayer. "I want your input though."

"On you being back?" Kennedy raised an eyebrow. "Somehow I don't think that's what you mean."

"No." Buffy shook her head. "I think you know what I want to know about. And where you stand."

"Straightforward as always." Kennedy smiled. She tossed the towel into the laundry basket against the wall. "Why do you think I have anything to offer?"

"I know that you and Xander have your own history. And with Willow…" Buffy trailed off, letting the other finish.

"I think he's shown that he's worth something." Kennedy tried to stay noncommittal. She could tell what was going on. Her childhood amongst the rich had educated her well on the machinations of backroom deals. "Of course, with what happened, who's to say how much that's worth. Or if it's worth it at all."

"Will you back me?" Buffy crossed her arms in front of her. She wanted a straight answer. And clearly would not accept anything less.

"And leave you in charge again?" Kennedy replied rhetorically. "I haven't seen anything that would want to make me want to see things different. At least, not with something that could have the effect this could."

"Fine." Buffy turned to leave. Unhappy with the situation, but it was clear she wouldn't get much of anything else out of the slayer.

"There is one thing though," Kennedy said at her back. "As much as I may not like him. And as much history as there is between us, I do have to give it to him. He's proven that he can do things that we can't. And that when it comes down to it, he's willing to do more than we are. Much more than you. Considering that I don't think he'd be so unwilling to spare Spike."

Buffy glared at the slayer over her shoulder. "Is that it?"

"Last thing." Kennedy smirked back. "Xander may not have been here. But, he's been here much more than you. And while you are a slayer, he's out there on the line. With us, even if not in body. He's wormed his way back in here amongst us. That carries weight. Don't forget that."

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"That's good." Xander looked closer at the monitor. He scanned the image, trying to see what was there. "Yeah. That's great. Can you get any closer?"

"No." The pilot of the submersible said over the communications link. There was some static, but it was pretty clear over the line. He scanned the area with SONAR as well as the checked the small monitors that were fed by the cameras mounted around the large submersible. "There's too much rubble. And, the robot's too wide to fit through that hole. Besides, the umbilical might not stretch far enough to go all the way through. My readings say its pretty deep. And that there may not be a clear path all the way through. The cord could get caught up even if we could get it in there."

"Okay. Time for Plan B." Xander leaned over and glanced at Curtis. He smiled a crooked smile. "Glad I brought him along now?"

Curtis just smirked back. Nothing that Xander did anymore surprised him.

"Gage. Strip your gear off. See if you can make it in. I'll have the sub use its arms to pass you the camera and equipment through the hole after you," Xander said into the microphone. "Understand?"

A light blinked on above the monitor once. Once for yes.

Xander watched as the sub backed up. Gage swam into view, stripping off his vest. The fish man laid it onto the sub's left robotic arm.

He felt freer with the vest off. The gills on his sides and lower back were able to expand wider, taking in more water and collecting more oxygen to send straight into his bloodstream. It was good to be back in open water. The tank had gotten larger, and was nice. Some fish and plants had been added. He knew that it had been by Xander's request. Part of the reason why he had volunteered to go on the mission. To contribute. To pay back what he owed. The savagery that had consumed him in the past was gone. His blood, though still hot, was no longer on fire. Controlling him.

Still, he knew that he wasn't a free man. And that he had to serve in some capacity or face a worse fate than simple captivity. Xander had taken it upon him to reveal the tracker and small cranial explosive that had been implanted in his head during one of the routine examinations he had been in. With more of his human mind intact, it hadn't come as a shock to find out that it was there. What was one was that Xander had told him about it. It didn't change his decision. He served voluntarily. The bomb was there for a reason. It was one he may not have liked, but one he understood and accepted.

Xander told him though. That meant something. And there was still his young to think about. If he could prove himself, it would buy him some amount of safety. For him and his offspring. That was worth being thought of as a possible risk. Better that than being viewed as an actual risk.

He swam towards the small hole made by the fallen rock. There was just enough room to make it through. He went in and turned around, drifting in the water. He didn't really need the sub's lights to see, but he could more clearly make out what was inside the room.

Gage watched as his gear was based to him through the hole. The lights, sensors, and camera were still attached. He picked it up, but didn't both putting it back on. Instead he pulled a small number of chemical lights and cracked them, throwing them across the room. They wouldn't last for too long, but the dim light wouldn't affect his natural vision and would let the others see more clearly.

He pulled the head of the fiber optic camera out of its holder and stretched the cord out in front of him. A small guide light flicked on when he twisted the head, turning it on. He kicked off the rock floor and swam forward, deeper into room, camera aimed to catch the contents.

Xander watched a secondary monitor at what Gage was capturing. There were a number of artifacts in cases all across the room. Many of them were still intact. Useless in a tactical sense, but historically speaking they were priceless. He may have barely based high school, but even he could understand the sheer value of what was there. Not in monetary terms, but in the knowledge that could be gained of the history of their world. Too bad he would like have to blow it all up.

"Wait." Xander said into the mike. "Gage, to your left. Yeah. Right there. Aim at that. Aim the sensor over that painted box. Yeah. Like that. Lakshmi, you getting that? What's the reading?"

"It's a match Xander." The Indian witch replied with a slight accent. She squirmed in her seat, trying to get a better position in the cramped sub. "The room's filled with it. Everything else that you were looking for is there."

"Any energy spikes?" Xander rubbed his chin. They were there. They were actually there. It was a sight. They were all probably the only group of people that had even seen the city in ten thousand years.

"No. It's clean," The witch called back.

"Okay. Gage, it looks like nothing's too big. Grab everything you can, then send it back through the hole. Try to be careful," Xander ordered. "Lakshmi, you should have a signature now on the nature of the machine. Can you run a city scan to check if there are any other spots that have something related?"

"I'll work on it now," Lakshmi replied. "It'll take a few minutes."

Xander checked the clock on the console. "You have about two hours of air before you have to ascend. Let's clear this room, and see if we need to hit any of the other sites. I want this thorough. If we can help, let's not have to blow the city."

"Second thoughts?" Curtis noted as Xander leaned back in his seat. It was seemed a rare moment. One of humanity. Something that, though deeply hidden, and even suppressed at times, still existed in his commander.

"That's a city down there. A city of Heaven. That, that used to be filled with people. Thousands. Millions of them. I could destroy it so easily. It would be simple for me to do." Xander turned to look at his partner. He pointed at a button. An emergency switch for the explosives that were connected to the submersible. There was another for the small charges that Gage could detach and carry in a bag. "Too simple. The work of a second. A push of a button. And it, just leaves in a flash and a bang. A bit of flame in water and poof. And if I do that, then everything that they were. Everything that they experienced. It's gone. It's just gone. All of that history. Love. Pain. Hope. Despair. Life. _Life. _It's just not there anymore. Like they never even existed in the first place. They deserve more than that. They deserve to be remembered."

"Losing your edge, X?" Faith remarked wryly. She thought she detected some amount of awe in his words. She had to admit though, the sight, though dimly lit, impressed even her.

Xander turned to the slayer. She could see the blatant coldness in his eye that had quickly descended. "I do have my moments of reflection. I live here too you know. But, like I said, it would be very easy for me to do it. Don't mistake my reluctance, my reservation, for hesitation. And don't mistake my desire to save the world a bit of beauty for something its not."


	59. Chapter Fifty Eight

**Chapter 58: NDA**

"And here's you ten percent." Captain Singh handed Xander a large box. It contained a number of items that had been brought up from the ocean floor. The Indians would investigate the items that were deemed mystical in nature or of supernatural significance. With Cindy in Alaska, it was better to do it on board than to risk it being at a landed facility. Besides, Lakshmi had the credentials, including the equivalent of a doctorate in her particular field of study. Better she do it than trying to hire someone else on short notice. There was a reason why they had allies. And at least the official witch had more of an education in mystical investigation than some that the Council would have been able to contribute to the effort. If they had been willing to contribute at all. "We'll keep you appraised of our findings. And Laskhmi has the linkup with your witch in case she needs to consult."

Xander took hold of the box, not bothering to open it to check. That would have been an insult. He held it under one arm and shook hands with the captain. "Thank you sir. I guess you're going to get famous on this. You'll have to wait until after this is all sorted out of course. You know what to say right?"

"Of course." The captain smiled. Most of the happiness he felt was that the world was a step closer to being safer. The rest was that he would soon be known as the captain of the vessel that discovered a city beneath the waves. A big find like this would rewrite the history books. Though they had to keep some things secret. Like the fact that the original inhabitants of the city had not been human. Still, all in all, it was not a bad week's work. "I feel bad that you cannot take any credit on this."

Xander shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I had to work that hard to find it. You're the ones that had to do the monotonous part out of it. Just make sure that everyone knows to leave us out of it. And what not to say."

"Do not worry, everyone will be briefed. It will be handled as we have agreed. Goodbye. May the gods watch out for you." Captain Singh watched as the odd young American boarded the helicopter for the first leg of his trip back home.

Xander turned and waved goodbye. A part of him had to struggle to keep a scowl off of his face. "May the gods watch out for all of us."

In truth, he really didn't feel it. That was part of the reason why he did what he did. Hard to trust a group of beings, when one of their members was conspiring to kill off a good deal of mankind. Of course, Captain Singh didn't pray to those gods. And, Xander didn't want to express the feeling that there wasn't really a difference between any of them. He didn't have much faith in the deities of any faith. The ones that the captain had, nor even the one that a number of his men had. But, he held his tongue. It would not do to insult the captain after all.

The captain of the INS Sagardhwani watched as his American guest left. He'd done his part in making sure the ship ran efficiently during its search for the lost city. Now it was the task of the mystics and the Americans to get the rest of the job done. He wasn't too worried though. At least, no more so than any other day knowing how close the world was to ending each and every day.

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"So what's in the box?" Faith twisted around in her seat and watched as Xander opened the large wooden box that he had placed in his lap. He had kept it closed on the helicopter trip back to the coast as well as most of their current trip back to the states on the cargo plane that had previously carried them over. It had piqued her curiosity, and it had annoyed her no end when he had decided not to open it. She had had enough of it.

Xander smirked. Faith was certainly an impatient woman. "Consolation prize. You know, for not getting famous off the deal. Shame about national security and all that. One of the downsides at the secret agent man game. Anyway, it's ten percent of what they took back from the surface. Minus anything that shouldn't get out in public. It's the standard rate for recoveries and discoveries like this. Usually it's cash, but for this…"

"So what's in it?" Faith repeated herself.

Xander opened the box and turned it around for the slayer to look at it. He watched her eyes grow wide in astonishment at what was inside. It was a heap load of jewels, gold coins, and other assorted artifacts. All exquisitely made and all extremely valuable. Even ten percent of the total haul would be a fortune in anybody's book. Though technically speaking, as government employees, they weren't personally allowed to keep anything given to them by foreign governmental bodies. No gifts were allowed, no matter the reason behind the gifting. That wasn't to say it was an unwise policy as it did cut down on undesirable influences on government officials. Still, it was a uniform policy that did not take context into account, and therefore could get in the way of how things should have worked.

"Impressed?" Xander turned the box sideways, so that both of them could look at it. He dug around a bit and pulled out a gold chain with a large ruby set in the middle. He held it up and showed it to Curtis. "This do?"

Curtis looked it over from across the aisle and nodded. He caught it as Xander tossed it to him. He placed the necklace in the duffle bag that was on the seat next to him. "That'll do. Thanks."

Xander took out another necklace and held it to the light. There was a number of small deep blue sapphires set in small settings regularly spaced along the length of it. He put it back in the box and pulled out another necklace. This one contained a large emerald in a single setting with a satin finished platinum chain. Xander nodded and put it in his coat pocket.

"What are you doing?" Faith looked between the two men inquiringly.

Xander looked her in the eye, no expression on his face. "I think the color goes with her eyes. Why?"

He looked down and selected out a few other pieces for his people. A large bracelet with rubies for Cindy. A brooch for Abby. And a not small gold statue with gemstone highlights for Jack. Xander placed them in a cardboard box and placed it under the seat next to him.

Xadner dug around a little more. He pulled out a ring and held it up. It caught the plane's overhead light and the blue almost purple stone reflected a brilliant white star pattern back at him. Xander tossed it at Faith. "For your health."

Faith gasped as she caught the ring. She didn't know how to appraise jewelry. She didn't even know what type of stone was in the setting. But, she did know that it would have cost thousands if purchased legitimately. And, that wasn't even considering its historical value. "What?"

"Don't worry about it. Everyone knows. It's the fortunes of war. And we're not exactly an outfit that follows the rules anyhow. Think of it, think of it as, your paycheck. We work a good day's work, we should get paid for it." Xander pulled out a small bag of cold coins and placed that in one of his coat pockets as well. A large uncut diamond went in next to it. He closed the treasure chest and set the box on the seat next to him, making sure it wouldn't slide around. He reached under his seat and pulled out his shoulder bag. "That reminds me."

Faith watched as he pulled out a stapled bunch of papers in a file folder and handed it to her. She opened it up. The red classified stamp on it drew her focus immediately. She looked up at Xander. "What's this for?"

"That's your standard non-disclosure agreement." Xander pulled out a pen and handed it to her. "There's a lot of legalese. You can have Curtis look it over if you want. Basically, it says that you don't say anything about what happened to anyone without express permission from the government. In this case, me. If you decide not to follow that, then they drag you out behind the watershed and shoot you in the head. If you're lucky, they'll even bury you instead of leaving you for the crows."

Faith opened her mouth and closed it. She couldn't find the words. It wasn't so much what was said, but the matter of fact way in which Xander had said it.

"Anyway, I figure you're going to tell Robin. That's okay. But, you need to make sure he knows that he is not to talk about any of this. And none of this federal agent stuff that you know about can get back to him like I said before. That still says less than public. You know, cause I don't want to have him end up buried next to Jimmy Hoffa." Xander ignored Faith's reaction. "Don't worry, it's pretty much a formality. Secrets are our livelihood anyway. So it's not really any different from what we normally do. This way, it's spelled out in an easy to understand fashion. In triplicate."

Faith nodded and turned around, sitting back into her seat. She started reading.

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"So, how'd everything go?" Vi asked, taking a seat next to Xander on the couch. She leaned over as he placed an arm around her shoulder. The slayer rested her head against his shoulder.

"Pretty good." Xander turned on the television. He flipped past the news and settled on some sitcom. It had been a long flight and he had managed to get a decent amount of sleep in. More than usual. So he was ready for action. As soon as it got dark. "I was half expecting some sea monster to come up and look for a fight. Anti-climactic in its way, but I guess I'm glad that everything went smooth. Much better all around when we don't have to kill anything."

"I'm glad," Vi said, placing a hand on the arm that Xander had placed around her shoulder. She gripped it tightly. Happy that he was back.

"How's everything on your end?" Xander turned and looked down at his girlfriend. "Buffy not causing too many problems?"

Vi shook her head slightly. "She's trying, but not succeeding. Buffy's taking it slow, trying to find people that still support her. But, the ones that haven't chosen sides aren't quick to make it known who'll they side with. Still, there are those that support her. She is famous in my circle after all."

"Found many?" Xander asked, tensing a bit.

Vi shrugged against his body. She rubbed his arm, trying to get him to relax. "Few. Giles and Willow. Andrew. And the slayers that tow the party line with Giles. There are a decent number; but most of them haven't been here that long. We figure that when they get trained up to patrol status, they'll start understanding how things work. I guess they're still in awe of her. Of course, most times the truth never matches the legend. We'll see how things play out."

"Good," Xander said, not bothering to correct her on Andrew. He knew the young watcher had been trying to re-establish a position. Not necessarily a field position of leadership. But, one that would put him in a place that would allow for direct input on how things were run. He wasn't worried about it though, since that was the assignment that the young turncoat had been given by his supposed DEA and DHS asset handlers. "I need your help though. I need you and the others to work with Faith on coming up with a list of slayers."

"Which ones?" Vi turned to look up at Xander.

"The ones that have done the best at large unit training as well as the ones that show aptitude for strategy and combined arms. I need a full billet. I'll need good commanders for this thing." Xander knew that the main focus for the slayers was patrol work. Even now, with some of the larger forces at play in a less than secure position, there weren't many threats that could mass armies. So, they focused on small unit tactics instead. The better to conduct their patrols and small scale missions in other cities.

That wasn't to say that they weren't trained on other things as well. With his still rather recent placement in the official hierarchy of the Faerie military he had asked for the slayers to begin training to fight in larger numbers. The battles that occurred on Sidhe were vastly different than those that occurred on Earth. And, while he couldn't tell them the truth about the situation, he could, at the very least, still prepare them. It was why the training was structured as it was. It started with what was needed immediately, and the followed it up with breadth to cover what would become necessary in the future. The future being all the battles that Xander forsaw the necessity to fight. The fights that would come, even if he didn't want them to.

The emphasis on weapons was also kept broad for the same reason. Guns were useful on Earth. Very useful. But, they didn't always work correctly on other planes of existence. Sidhe was one of those. And though the slayers didn't know it at present, a number of them would likely have to fight there, sans the type of weapons that they were fast becoming familiar with. It was best for them to prepare for it, even unknowingly. The time would be approaching. They would be called up, sooner or later. At least Xander had made sure that they would be able to come as potential volunteers with the training to deal with the situation and not as draftees sent in as cannon fodder with no understanding of what was going on.

"Okay. Do you need any of the others?" Vi knew what it was for. She, along with a number of the other slayers, was kept well briefed on the status of the going ons at Level 6. One of which was the demon army that they were currently looking for. Ideally, they wouldn't have to face it on equal footing on some field of battle. However, it was best to be prepared. And to give them some experience, good experience, on facing armies would be good for them.

"Sekhmet likely has some good magical backing. So, we're calling in everyone we can get our hands on. I don't know how many of the current Council mages would be useful, but if you could work to come up with a list, we could use that too." Xander thought about what other Council members might be useful. It was a short list. In the realm of large scale magical warfare, the Council was rather lacking. Of course, that may have been more a recruitment and training issue as opposed to the people that were currently there.

"Really? Who's coming?" Vi inquired, wondering about what international forces would be coming to assist. She hadn't had much personal experience with any of the other groups. Though she did go out into the field at the behest of Level 6, and Xander at times, she was primarily a Council field slayer. Which meant rotations through the streets of Cleveland. They faced the odd demon and vampire. Sometimes groups of them. But, nothing in any large scale. Not really.

"The Peruvians are going to be sending us their guys. India. The Europeans are seeing how things play out before giving us anything. Germany's been vocal about what happened in the Black Forest, so they're being cautious in how they allocate their people. They have their own problems to deal with and don't want to spread themselves too thin." Xander explained.

"Problems of our creation," Vi grumbled, settling back into Xander's embrace.

"Yeah, well it wasn't your fault." Xander couldn't really come up with anything else.

Vi smiled, trying to get back in the mood. She was glad that Xander was back. With things how they were, it was unlikely that she'd be able to see him as much as they would have liked to. "Well, tell me about India. Was it pretty?"

"Yup. Though we didn't get to see much of the country. We were out on the ocean most of the time. That was cool for the most. Deep blue water. Deep blue sky." Xander thought about his recent travels. They'd been in India for only a little more than a week. Most of it aboard the research vessel. It was large, but with the limited areas that they could go, it did get tedious. At least the view was good. "The city was cool. There's some video if you want to see it."

"Sure," Vi replied. "Did you get to go down to see it?"

"Actually, yeah. After we had picked everything up and the tests were being run there wasn't much for us to do onboard. So I got to go down the last day before we had to head back." Xander thought back to the trip he had made. It had taken hours through the black to get down there. But, when he got there, it was amazing. Though the lights they had brought along with them had cut through the darkness, it could not bring the city back to its former splendor. The damage that had been done to it had been irreparable. It was lost beneath the waves. Now only good for exploration by craft and camera. The only eyes that would gaze upon it, barring Gage's, would be behind inches of metal and glass.

No one would be able to walk through the stoned streets. No one would look upon the temples and see the sunlight reflect off of shiny golden walls. There would be no laughter in the dwellings of the reptoids that had once called the city home. But, at the end of the day, it had been found. And now, it would be remembered. If only as the remnants of a lost civilization.

Xander shook off his reverie. "That reminds me, I got you something. Now, close your eyes."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope after he made sure that Vi had shut her eyes. He took his arm back and opened the package, dumping the necklace into his palm. He had given the pieces he had picked out to the rest of his team. The small bag of coins had been melted down and given to a buyer to convert to cash. That had been stashed in the usual places, along with the diamond.

Xander draped the necklace along Vi's slender neck and closed the fastener. He leaned down and kissed her neck. He whispered into her ear, "you can look now."

Vi moaned a little at Xander's warm breath on her neck as she opened her eyes. She bent down and looked at the necklace that adorned her neck. The links of the platinum chain were all slightly different in size and shape, a sign of its hand made nature. There was a setting of slightly less than shiny metal that held a large emerald. The shine helped to accentuated the gemstone. It was large. A good number of karats of clear, but dark and vibrant green, stone. She stood up and went to the hallway, looking at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. The valuable stone was beautiful, and played wonderfully off of her pale skin and green eyes.

Xander got up behind her and watched as she checked her gift out. He placed his arms around her waist bringing her close. He bent down. "Like it?"

"I love it. Thank you, Xander." Vi smiled and twisted around, catching Xander in a deep kiss.

"No problem," Xander replied, after they had come up for air.

"C'mon let's go somewhere nice for dinner. I want to show it off." Vi dragged him into the bedroom to get dressed.

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Xander leaned against the door of his car. He watched as the small group of slayers came up to him. It was the group that had the area that he had decided to check out. He recognized some more easily than others. There was the team leader, Satsu. With her were Leah, Shannon, and Rowena. Linda came up behind them. Their resident witch.

It was quite noticeable that there was no watcher with them. Though in many cases there still weren't enough watchers to go around. In others, the teams had decided to exclude watcher leadership and influence, at least at a tactical level. A display of their independence.

Xander noticed that they all had a stylized letter "M" somewhere on their armor/clothing. He turned his head towards the slayer next to him. "That letter mean something? They have a team name?"

Vi looked at him. "They call themselves the Marauders."

Xander sighed. "Which one's the Harry Potter fanatic?"

"Rowena. I guess it's kinda appropriate." Vi smirked at him.

"Right." Xander shook his head. "This happen often?"

"Pretty much." Vi shrugged. "Most good names have already been used somewhere along the way. I think it's kinda cute."

"I guess. But, how come none of them have used the "Champions of Xandar" yet?" Xander turned to Satsu as she reached them. "How are things?"

"We found a vampire nest in our zone. It's a fairly rough area so nobody noticed a group of them move in." Satsu reported. "We're going to take it out tonight."

"Any reason why we're not going in during the day?" Xander inquired. At night, the vampires were in their element. It didn't give them additional strength, but there was no reason to give them any advantage if it couldn't be helped.

"Too many witnesses," Satsu explained. "It's not the best area, but there'd still be too many people to try an entry in the daytime. Even with the magicks."

"So how's this going to work?" Xander asked.

"Wait, you're not going to lead us?" Linda asked, stepping closer in. She remembered her previous interaction with the man. He was in command there with his team. And he had certainly been in charge the other times that the Council had come into contact with him.

Xander shrugged. He checked all of them out. They had outfitted themselves well. Each was carrying a variety of weapons and other equipment that complemented their abilities. Even Linda seemed to have integrated well with the group, though most of the magic users were rotated amongst the slayer teams. "It's your nickel. I figure you guys seem to have this in hand. Satsu, you have a plan?"

"Yes. We have the blueprints for this house," Satsu stated. "We're going to have Linda do a mystical recon and then make the strike under a cloaking and shielding spell."

Xander nodded. "Sounds good. Where do you want us?"

The team leader thought about it. Usually, it wasn't bad to have extra people. Although in this case it was because Xander had requested to see one of the patrol teams out on rotation. They weren't part of the team, and it would be risky and quite irresponsible to try to add them into the mix now. Still, that wasn't to say they couldn't contribute. "You can provide rearguard for us. Linda can provide stronger spellwork if she's closer in. With you there we can move her up instead of having her stay in an out of the way place."

"Okay." Xander walked to the back of his car and popped the trunk. He dug out his own gear and started to strap it on. Vi followed his lead. He glanced back at the slayers. "Let's go to work."

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Xander watched as the team prepared for their entry into the house. Linda had brought down a cloaking spell to keep people from noticing the armed women that would be moving around on the street. It would also keep people inside the house from noticing that they were massing on the street until it was too late. A shielding spell would prevent anybody from getting away and any lead from hitting the adjacent houses if they had to go with metal rounds. Or if anybody inside the house was packing. Linda had certainly advanced a long way from her beginnings in Wicca magic. Though the masking spell wouldn't last long. Once the door was breached and the rounds started to fly, it would be impossible to not notice them.

He made sure the earpiece was secure in his own ear and glanced over at his current assignment for the evening. Linda had her eyes closed, no doubt to check out the occupants of the house.

The Wiccan opened her eyes. "There are seven of them in there. Two of them are on the second story in the main bedroom. Three of them are in the kitchen on the main floor. The rest are in the family room. Also, on the main floor. Nobody else is in the house. Alive at least. And no blank spots or mystical traps or security, magical or mundane. It's clean."

"Okay." Satsu looked down at the blueprints that were spread on the hood of her car. She determined the best methods of entry and the most efficient way to assault the house. She looked up at her team. "Leah, take Shannon and go in through the front. Hit the family room on the left right after you get in. Rowena and I will go with Vi and hit the kitchen. Leah, after the hit on the family room you'll take the stairs and secure the area. We'll back your move on the two in the bedroom."

Leah looked over the schematics. She measured the distances and how fast she would have to move. "Dynamic entry?"

Satsu shook her head. "No. There's the two upstairs. Linda's cloaking spell will mask us when we crack the doors. Once that's in we enter quietly. Suppressed weapons and we should be able to take out the bottom floor without unduly alerting the targets on the top level. That said, be prepared in case things go sour."

"Got it." Leah nodded.

Xander was impressed. They weren't a military unit or a police assault team. They adopted what was they decided was useful, but didn't go overboard with sticking to every procedure and term. They were still civilians in their own way, but they could do what they needed to in a fight in order to properly execute. "And my role is to be?"

"You come in after Leah and Shannon take the family room," Satsu answered. "You provide rear guard with Linda. We'll take care of the rest. If we need you, we'll call in."

Xander nodded. "Okay."

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"Three. Two. One. Go." Satsu entered through the door, her weapon raised to fire. A mask obscured her features, though given their kill directive it was likely unnecessary. Both teams had checked the rooms with fiber optic cameras; both teams were good to go. With her word, the teams went into action.

The team leader didn't have to take five steps into the house before she was able to fire her weapon. The vampires seated at the kitchen table didn't stand a chance.

Satsu's sent a three round burst into the back of the vampire nearest her. It exploded into dust without even knowing that slayers were in the room. She had reached the middle of the kitchen, keeping close to the wall as Rowena stepped into the room and fired a burst into the chest of the vampire that was just starting to rise from his seat. It too fell to the ground as dust.

Satsu took the last vampire with a few shots to the upper back It had tried to head towards the front of the house in an attempt to get away or maybe warn the others in the house. It failed.

The sounds of death never reached any other room of the house. Normally, suppressed weapons fire was still audible from a fair distance away. However, the newly designed rune engraved suppressors that the MP5's that the team were carrying quieted down the reports of their weapons down to whispers. Of course, they were only good for a very short time before the spells were depleted and were easily detectable by other magic users. Still, for a short assault against standard vampires, it was ideal for achieving a quite operation.

At the same time that Satsu and Rowena were cleaning up the kitchen, Leah made her entry at the front. With the door lock picked, it had been less than a second's work to make her way into position.

It happened as expected. When given the word, Leah breached, turning to her left and moving towards the family room. The vampires were seated on the couch. She adjusted her aim and fired at their heads. The two vampires fell over incapacitated with most of their brains shredded by wooden fragments.

The redheaded slayer moved in quickly with Shannon backing her up. Leah fired two bursts into the backs of the fallen vampires. They dusted immediately. She moved towards the stairs and started up them, noticing that Satsu, Rowena, and Vi had reached them. She leaned over, letting Shannon cover her as she replaced her magazine; wanting a fresh one to face whatever was up the stairs.

Xander watched it all happen without a word spoken. They moved quickly and confidently. No wasted swings of a gun. Nothing extraneous. All of the shots had even hit their targets. Just precision.

He held his place in the front hall, and watched as the team climbed the stairs. A glance at Linda told him that the two vampires upstairs were none the wiser and would not be waiting for the slayers.

Leah reached the head of the stairs and carefully made her way to the main bedroom. The door was closed. Good for them. She motioned for Shannon to take out her camera and scan the room.

Shannon moved forward, letting her submachine gun hang by its sling as she pulled out her fiber optic camera. She moved the lens under the door and moved it around, trying to find the subjects.

It wasn't hard. The two vampires inside were naked on the bed. Feeding one of their urges.

She pulled the camera back and placed it back in the holder. She brought her weapon up and took her place at the side. Shannon used hand signals to communicate with the others of what was going on inside. It was somewhat limited, but telepathic links during actual combat was risky. Too much thought and instinct going on in a firefight to go through. And that was only with one mind.

Shannon tried the doorknob slowly. It was unlocked. She opened it and pushed through, her weapon raised to fire. The two nude vampires were too into each other to notice the raised gun until it had already fired into them. The last thing they felt was pain, and then they fell to pieces.

Seven dead vampires. No casualties. The whole assault took less than five minutes.

"Clear?" Satsu said, the first word spoken since entry. She looked at their witch.

Linda nodded. "Clear."

"How's the cloaking spell on the outside?" Satsu asked.

"Holding," Linda said, only the barest hint of strain in her voice. "We have another five minutes."

"Let's clean our brass and get out of here." Satsu ordered. "Xander, Vi go with Leah and Shannon. Linda will come with Rowena and me to clean up the kitchen. After we're done we'll help finish up the family room. Let's go."

The slayer team leader looked at Xander. Part of it was pride. Pride for how well her team had done. The other was a desire for approval. Not that she needed his validation that she did well. The evidence spoke for itself. Still, Satsu did value Xander's experience. And wanted his input.

Xander just nodded. It was enough.

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"You want me to do what?" Xander asked, surprised at the request. In the grand scheme of things, he might have measured up fairly high. Though much of the competition wasn't all that great. However, for certain operations he dropped down pretty low on the list of suitable applicants. At least if the desired outcome was success.

"Like I said, I want you to go into Yemen and retrieve a stolen warhead off a Soviet SS-29N. Or, if necessary, destroy it." Mr. Barnes repeated his instructions. He moved closer to the camera; his image appearing larger on screen that Xander was looking at. "It's a MIRV-Eight weighing approximately five hundred pounds. Nominal yield for this model is 20 kilotons. I can send you the specs. That's the favor."

Xander laughed. It was a good thing that Vi was in one of her classes. There was no way she would want to listen to this. Truthfully, he didn't want to hear any of it either. "Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you send in some Delta team to take care of this? Retrieval from less than friendly nations. Isn't that their forte? This isn't exactly what I do, you know."

"I know," Mr. Barnes replied. "However, Yemen is one of the friendlier nations in the region. And, it isn't like it's their government doing this thing. So, I can't send in any or my usual assets. Even my less than official ones are being watched. One-Eyed Jack, however, is someone that can go in. Are you trying to go back on your word?"

"No." Xander moved forward. "What I'm saying is that you must have a screw loose if you think that I'm the best guy for this. I mean, you're asking me to break into a foreign country, steal a nuclear device from what's got to be a heavily secured area with a ton of guards, and then break out with something that weighs a quarter ton. Does this remotely sound like something I can do?"

"You aren't the best man for the job. However, I can't use the best man for the job. So, you're all I've got." Barnes sighed. "Xander, I need your help on this. We can't let a nuke fall into the hands of terrorists. Look, I'll give you all the info that I can get on the target. Blueprints, schematics, access to their trunkline. Access to the power systems. A passport and a plane ticket to Sana'a. That's the easy stuff. With your other than natural abilities you should be able to pull it off without the need of an assault team."

"You're placing a lot of faith in me if you think I can pull it off." Xander rubbed his forehead. He was getting a headache. Favors were one thing, this was something else entirely. "I have less faith in me than you do, I'm afraid. Let me guess, I can't bring any of the slayers or the other guys on my team in on this."

"Correct," Barnes stated. "They can't know about this. They can't know about me. I'm going beyond the pale for this one. This is beyond black. Nobody can ever know what we're planning. Nobody can ever know about this or there won't even be a trial. They'll just find us, execute us, and salt the earth. Do you understand? Do you understand what's at stake here? Who can and will die if this thing hits US soil?"

Xander glanced at top indicator bar on his computer screen. He sighed. "We have three minutes left on this cycle before it pops up. Give me everything you have on the subject and organize the logistics. ID and tickets. I'll also need weapons and transpo on site. I'll have to see what I can do about getting everything else into place. And, God help us all if the faith you have in me is misplaced."


	60. Chapter Fifty Nine

**Chapter 59: ****Suq al-Milh****  
**

Xander looked around, searching for the man he was supposed to be meeting. It was about a quarter to eleven, so the market was starting to thin out. There were still a number of shoppers left, many of them tourists, but with them going, he was going to be left more than a little conspicuous. He was tempted to pick something up for Vi, but the government agent knew he couldn't. There couldn't be any trace of his presence once he left. A pity. There was some neat stuff in the marketplace.

He felt the lower half of his face itch. He was tempted to scratch, but the movement might dislodge the fake beard that he had glued on. Along with the dyed blonde hair and extensions, prosthetic eye, and single contact lens he didn't look much like himself. He still had his white skin though, which meant that he needed to find his contact fast. Once the tourists had gone with the morning's sales of spices and trinkets, he'd stick out. And attention was something he certainly didn't want.

"Mr. Burns." A man came up next to Xander. He looked like a local, and had a strong accent. "I'm to bring you to my employer."

Xander turned to his side to look at the man. With the baggy robes the man was wearing, he could be packing all sorts of things. Unfortunately, he wasn't armed himself. Not even a rock. Still, he held himself confidently. Half of every confrontation was posture. "You don't say. Whose the greatest actor who ever lived?"

"Steven Seagal," The man replied, in all seriousness. It was the expected question after all. And, he gave the expected answer. Even if he didn't know what the answer was supposed to mean. He waved his hand at his small shop, indicating that the obvious American should follow him.

Xander let the other man lead. They went into the small embroidery shop and walked into the backroom. He tensed up slightly, though it didn't show, as he stepped into the darkly lit storage area. If anything were to happen, it would be there. The local closed the door behind him, leaving him alone with the man that was already inside. Even in the dim light, he could see that the other man was as white as he was. Luckily, there was no gun in his hand that would mean that he had been found out.

"Mr. Burns." The man said, in a tone making it clear that he knew it was an alias. He walked over and shook hands with the man that had come in.

Xander shrugged. "It'll do, Mr. Orlov. You have my order ready?"

"Yes." Mr. Orlov replied, in a slight Ukrainian accent. He indicated the large black bag that rested on the wooden table that took up the center of the room. Against the walls around them were large metal and wood shelves that held large rolls of cloth. The store's larger wares. "You have my money I expect?"

"I need to verify completion of the order first, Mr. Orlov." Xander knew that that was the weapons dealer's real names. One of a number of names that Mr. Barnes had collected along the way. Not one in debt like Xander, but someone that could be used for extra legal work when needed. Someone that could be utilized on a rainy day. Only reason that the man hadn't been retired. And why he wasn't allowed to retire him. Though even without that, it would be a complication he couldn't afford. Not with the government man out in the open like he was.

"Very well." Mr. Orlov gestured at the bag. "Take a look."

Xander walked up to the table and pulled a pair of leather gloves out of his pocket. He put them on, ignoring Mr. Orlov's amused look. He was the customer; it was his privilege to exercise his eccentricities. The desire to not leave any fingerprints was one of them, and had some obvious basis. Though it was unlikely that anybody that had access to the room would care or be stupid enough to try to lift them. He unzipped the bag and pulled out the duffel's contents. The main item was an OTs-02 Kiparis. A Russian submachine gun. There were about fifteen magazines and enough boxed bullets to fill them. Xander turned on the detached laser sight to make sure it operated. He couldn't see the light, but the mechanics of it worked. He'd have to test the lighting mechanism when he tested his guns. The weapon had to modified to take it; extra money, but worth it. He also opened one of the boxes of bullets to check if they were the type he had specified. They were some type of variant 9mm Makarov. He didn't know the exact type, but from the look of them they met the specifications he had requested.

"I can get you a good deal on armor piercing rounds," The arms dealer remarked as he watched his client look over the merchandise. "Or even the Hi-Impulse bullets. These soft rounds are hardly useful against armored targets."

"Don't worry about it." Xander knew that the location of the operation he would be conducting was set in a rather populated area. And a rather poor one. That meant less than thick walls. He may kill civilians when he had to, but he didn't want to be careless and let stray shots blasting through apartments take the lives of people by accident. Besides, he'd have to go for headshots anyways, given the need for sure kills. And, it was unlikely anybody would be wearing any sort of facial armor.

Xander checked the action on the Glock Model 17 he pulled out of the bag next. The trigger was crisp and it operated as it should. There was enough magazines and ammunition for the pistol in the bag as well. He laid that on the table next to the submachine gun.

The other equipment he had ordered were in there as well. Grenades and other explosives, with a variety of detonators. Night vision goggles. They were new ones, with the optional IR illuminators. As well as some of the harder to find wearable items he needed. None of it was American as had been specified. An MP5 variant would have been preferable, but though German in origin, the weapon was too widely connected to the United States to be strategically useful. Same with many of the handguns that he might have chosen. The Glock was ubiquitous enough that if found, would not link to an obvious, if still unofficial, nation of origin.

Xander put everything back in the bag and zipped it up. He pulled a large wad of cash out of his inner coat pocket and set it on the table. "That'll do. I expect I don't need to tell you to forget about this."

"Of course not." Mr. Orlov replied, acting as if he was offended. He picked up the money and counted it. The agreed upon number of Euros. "Do you need anything else? Suppressors for instance? Additional magazines?"

Xander slung the heavy bag over his shoulder. He made sure that the items inside didn't make any suspicious noises as he moved. "Don't worry about it. If that's everything…"

"Very well." Mr. Orlov walked to the closed door and opened it. He motioned for the young man to go through. "Give my regards to Mr. Barnes."

"Whatever you say." Xander walked out the door, noting that the vendor was sitting in his spot, a good distance away from the door to the back. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Mr. Burns." Mr. Orlov watched him go. The weapons would obviously be used for some less than authorized and obviously illegal work, but it wasn't his business to be concerned about that. He only supplied the means. The ends were up to his customers.

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"So what else do you have?" Vi asked, looking up at the other slayers that were seated around her on the floor in her bedroom. She picked up her notepad again and flipped to a clean sheet. The number of slayers that Xander needed meant that the task would take, and had taken, a long time. It had been a number of hours already. At least they were almost done.

"We have the grunts finished up, basically." Satsu said. She arched her back, stretching out. They'd been at it for hours. Most of the names had been picked. But, they had decided to come up with a number of full teams, just in case Xander needed close work done on a tactical more than mass scale. "Which leaves the teams."

"We've already got your Hellions. The rest of the Marauders want in. The Furies. Amazons. Kindreds. Swans. An uh, so do Rona's Vindicators," Satsu continued, reading off of her list. She glanced up at Vi.

"You think she's ready?" Vi had tried to reconnect more with the friend she had made in Sunnydale. It had been something of a struggle. Rona had been one of the slayers in Germany, and she was dating Xander. Still, Rona had learned from the experience, and had gone on to lead her own team. They were friends again, though Vi still didn't have as much time as she would have liked to spend with her. They hadn't even gone on patrol together in months.

"I think so." Satsu nodded. It had been her job to scout out the slayers. She had observed them in training as well as during their patrol rounds. She still didn't know them all, as there were simply too many, but she had taken the time to at least know how good they were.

"Okay. They're in." Vi wrote the team names and the members on her sheet. It also included the larger, less defined units that made up the slayers that hadn't been placed yet. In addition to the hundred and twenty slayers that had been picked, there were seven teams going with them. They ranged in size, the smallest being the Hellions, made up of only four. The largest, in more ways than one, were the Amazons, made up of a total of twenty. Though they often split up into teams of four when necessary.

"You think Faith is going to go?" Satsu asked, as Vi finished writing. The head slayer didn't have a team of her own. While she did patrol, it was mostly a supervisory position.

"I think so. That's Xander's intention at least." Vi nodded. "How about the other people Xander wanted?"

"I have that list." Leah flipped the page on her notebook, bringing up the list of watchers she had picked. "Eduard. Mikhail. Veronica. Nancy. Andy."

"What're they bringing into it?" Vi asked, writing down the names.

Leah looked up at the slayer in charge. "Section commanders. Though Mikhail is also something of a wizard. I picked the best tactical leaders, of the ones that are on Xander's side."

"Good work." Vi looked towards Renee. She knew that the dark skinned slayer had a pretty big crush on Xander, but that didn't keep them from being friends. "Any others on the magical front?"

"Yeah." Renee ran a hand through her short wavy hair and picked up her papers. "I managed to find seven that fit the profile that Xander wanted. Linda. Arnold. Jean-Francis. Yuki. Francisco. Iron-Knife. And Gbenga."

"Good." Vi replied, as she wrote those names down too. "I don't have the exact times, but please see that they can be ready to move whenever the word comes in. Satsu, see about having the trainers work in some integrated training for the people we've picked. Especially, mixing up the slayers with the others. They need to be able to work together smoothly. And be able to take orders from the section leaders."

"You got it," Satsu replied. She made some additional notations on her notebook, and then closed it. "I guess that's it."

"Yup." Vi nodded and stood up. She put her notebook in her desk and locked it. She had to be back at the House for a while, and didn't want to leave anything incriminating lying around. The young slayer couldn't not notice the whispers that were shared between those still loyal to the Old Guard of the Council. She ignored it in public, but she did make sure that she didn't have anything that could be used against her or Xander out in the open. If they wanted to take her or her own down, they'd have to work for it.

"You aren't getting away that easily, girl." Leah said, getting up as well. "Colleen told us about the gift that Xander gave you. We wanna see it."

The long haired slayer waved her hand at the other slayers in the room. They all nodded in agreement and support.

"Alright." Vi sighed, though it was clear there wasn't any strong protest in her. She walked over to a small wooden box that kept the small amount of jewelry that she owned. The slayer opened it, pulling out a necklace from the bottom. She turned it around and held it up for the other slayers to see.

The other slayers all admired it, some rather vocally. The large multi-faceted stone and bright metal were obvious. As was the amount of money that it was worth. That it was technically stolen, or appropriated, didn't really matter. It was the thought that counted. And that count probably went well into the tens of thousands. Given its origin in an ancient lost civilization and all.

"You're so lucky," Renee remarked, clearly a bit envious. "I wish I had a boyfriend like that."

Vi nearly blushed. She still couldn't exactly figure out what drew the rather tightlipped and enigmatic man to her. Though he certainly did have that tall dark stranger thing going on. Even if he still acted goofy at times. But, it didn't really matter, just as long as he was hers. "Well, I guess I am lucky."

She turned and lay the necklace on the dresser next to her jewelry box. Vi sighed a bit. Xander had had to leave for a couple of days. It wasn't exactly uncommon, but she always missed him when he was gone. Especially when he couldn't tell her where he was going. That she knew that he missed her just as much wasn't much consolation. Hopefully, once the current crisis was over, and the situation with the Council was stabilized, they would be able to spend more time together. Hopefully.

She felt Satsu embrace her from behind, comforting her. She leaned into the hug. She felt better, though a part of her wished it was Xander touching her instead.

Satsu whispered into her ear, "I miss Abby too."

A shared experience. Strain that both slayers knew well. Still, they felt what they felt. And the distance wouldn't stand in there way.

The Asian slayer released the other and stepped back. Vi heard a knock on the door as she was about to put the necklace back in her box. She looked at the other slayers, who went to the floor and quickly closed up and picked up their notebooks. The redheaded slayer waited until they were done and opened the door. The person at the door wasn't really a surprise.

"We need to talk," Buffy said, glancing at the other slayers in the room. It was clear who she wanted to speak to however. And what the subject would be. "Now."

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Xander rubbed his chin. The glue and beard were gone, but he thought he could still feel the remnants on his face. His hair was damp and clung to his face. The hair dye had turned it jet black. It wasn't much of a cover by itself, though even with the extra bits he would add he didn't expect to be seen. His previously dark blue tinged eyes were now his natural brown.

He knew he wasn't particularly handsome, though Vi did like to disagree with that notion. Or striking, if he had a fake eye in. Brown hair. Brown eyes. White skin. In most places, in America at least, he could blend in easily. He was the crowd, if a little fitter and muscular than most.

Then again, he wasn't in the US anymore.

It was cool in his small motel room, though not too cold to need anything more than t-shirt he was wearing. Less a matter of air-conditioning, as the cheap room had none, and more a matter of elevation, climate, and time of day. He looked over at the schematics of the house that he would be entering that night. It was something of a surprise. Given the neighborhood that he had learned would be the target, the government agent hadn't expected that it would be available. Still, he couldn't put much faith in it. Any renovations would likely not have been recorded down anywhere. Still it did give him some information. Maybe even more than it would have to others that might have attempted such an assault. He'd risen quickly in his last job. From ditch digger to construction worker. From construction worker to foreman. From foreman to manager. He was no slouch when it came to architecture and construction. And while he could build things up, he also knew a number of ways to knock them done. Though really, the night's work was more about quiet access as opposed to demolition. That was something else he had learned. He didn't have to worry about locking himself out anymore.

Xander looked up when he heard the call for Isha'a over the loudspeaker of the nearby mosque. He didn't need to check his watch. He had chosen the operation's time for a reason. The late time of night would give cover. And the targets wouldn't be at their best. Also, they would likely not be on khat. He'd made sure to catch a few hours of sleep during the early evening. It would give him a slight edge. He hoped so at least.

He walked over to the small bathroom. He went inside and turned on the light. It flickered a few times before it stayed on. He walked to the sink and looked into the cracked mirror. The light made his skin appear paler than it normally was. He took a small jar from its place on the rim and rubbed a thick paste over his face, making sure it covered every area. He dug it into his skin, into every pore. Rubbing it all over his face and neck. It darkened his complexion. Though it would be obvious in the light, during this time of night, it would hide his appearance well. He covered the back of his hands as well, making sure to leave the palms untouched. He didn't want to get them greasy after all. There could be fine work involved.

A fake beard and moustache went onto his face next. He made sure that the glue would still adhere despite the slightly greasy paint. This set was thicker and dark brown and black in color. A wig with long stringy dark hair went on his head. He checked himself out in the mirror. It would hide his identity rather well, all things considered. At least, unless one was specifically looking for him, or knew him by sight, it was unlikely that anyone would be able to identify him. Ideally though, anybody that got close enough to get a look at his face would be dead soon after.

The now darker colored demon hunter walked back into the main room. He went over to the bed and started to strap on the night's equipment. A black bullet proof vest went over his shirt. He made sure to bind it tight. Over that went a long sleeved shirt, tight enough to not catch on anything and long enough to cover his still white arms. The makeup went up a ways, but he didn't want to chance it. Xander pulled on a belt, feeling the weight of the many pouches and the contents they carried. He secured the belted holster to his leg and made sure it wouldn't catch when he bent his leg. His sidearm with fully loaded mag went inside and was secured. Extra magazines went into one of the side pouches.

Xander picked up his submachine gun and placed a magazine into its slot. He made sure that the safety was on. He had left the city and found a secluded spot to test fire his weapons. A few minor adjustments to the sights had to made, but they would perform as advertised. A number of magazines went into pouches on his belt as well, next to a few clipped grenades. The gun was slung over his neck and beneath one arm.

He picked up the rest of the tools he would need and placed it in a dark brown shoulder bag. He had purchased it that afternoon, but had run it over the ground a few times to give it a used look. It would serve its function well.

Xander laid the bag back down and pulled out a long dark robe and put it on. It was long and voluminous enough to cover the equipment he had beneath. The dark pants he had on would not be noticeable, and if he kept a short stride, his dark colored combat boots would not be visible.

He packed everything incriminating into another bag and lay that next to his shoulder bag on the bed. A pair of gloves were taken out of his shoulder bag and now covered his hands. Xander took out a piece of cloth and made sure that anything that he had touched with uncovered hands was wiped down. It was more than likely unnecessary. Still, he was on an illegal mission in a foreign country. An illegal mission which he was not fully suitable for. If he wasn't killed outright there was still a good chance that he would be captured. Likely executed if the terrorists and/or arms dealers that he would be going after found him. It would probably be worse if it was the government. An American running around shooting things up would not be well liked to the not hostile nation. He knew that his own government would disavow any link to him, Level 6 be damned, and he'd be interrogated, quickly sentenced, and even more quickly executed for espionage. So, with all of that hanging over his still young head, it was better to err on the side of over-preparing and over-analyzing things, than to miss the one small thing that would bring him down. Anal retentiveness was his motto.

Xander took one last look around the room. There was nothing else in there. The stuff he hadn't needed anymore had already been loaded in his rented car, along with some of the things he couldn't bring up to his room. He walked over to the bed and picked up his bags. He slung them over his shoulders. One last look around, and he turned off the light and turned to the door. He cracked it, making sure there was no one out in the hall. He exited quietly and locked the door, but didn't close it. He pulled out his room key and wiped it on his robe. He tossed it inside and watched it bounce on the bed.

He walked out in the hall and made his way to the staircase that led to the main lobby from his third floor room. He walked down the stairs, turning his face slightly away as he made his way past a couple that walked up the stairs. Xander didn't pass any others on his way to the lobby.

Xander didn't bother to check out. He just kept walking, not intending to come back. A few extra bills had ensured that the fake identity he used would not be given out freely. Though if pressed, the clerk slash owner would undoubtedly sell him out. There was the off chance that it wouldn't be that clichéd and a trustworthy man of principle rant he place, but Xander didn't bet his life on it. Still, he made sure that he hadn't looked like he did now when he had checked in. He took his gloves off and shoved them into one of the robes' pockets as he reached the lobby.

At that time of night there weren't many people in that area of the hotel either. He strode straight through the dimly lit lobby without a glance at the clerk still on duty and exited the motel. He made sure he nudged the door open with his arm. He was careful not to touch the glass door with his hands.

Xander found himself on the sidewalk, hearing the sounds of the street around him. Halfway across the world and in the foreign country for the first time, and he found that it was comfortable. Like he was back home on the streets. Even if the sounds weren't all the same.

He shook it off. There was no time for reverie. It was already fairly late, and there weren't that many people around, so he couldn't stand there gawking. The street was darkly lit, but he could still find his way around. The city map had been pretty good, even about that area.

He turned the corner and walked to the parking lot. Xander reached his car and pulled on his gloves. He got in, tossing the bags into the back seat, next to the ones that were already inside. He started it up and drove off, heading towards his destination.

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Vi glanced behind her at her fellow slayers, and then motioned towards the door. She watched them leave, and then turned back to the blonde slayer. She knew that the day would eventually come that she would have to confront Buffy. After the beating that she had given the supposed greatest slayer that ever lived, it was inevitable. Especially after word had gone out. The blow to Buffy's ego as well as the impact it was having on the more neutral slayers were expected. The repercussions were still being felt throughout the House. "I guess we do. Come in."

Vi let her in, closing the door behind the other slayer. She wasn't really sure what she should say. She could apologize, though it would be a false one. And she didn't really feel like it anyways. It would hardly be accepted after all. And if she were to be honest with herself, she didn't see anything she should even feel sorry for. For anyone's sake. She took a seat on the bed, letting the other slayer stand. It would put the blonde slayer in a elevated position, a position of strength, though only in the mind of one. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I think you know." Buff crossed her arms over her chest. She stood close to the younger slayer. Subconsciously trying to be intimidating. Of course, it didn't really work when the younger slayer had not so long ago beaten her up in an alleyway.

"I think you should let it go." Vi shrugged. "I mean, it's good that you're back. I know a number of people missed you. Xander included, though it'd be a struggle to get him to admit it. And another slayer is always welcome."

"You got lucky," Buffy stated, evidently not so willing to let it go.

"No. No, I didn't," said Vi coolly, but confidently. Filled with a self-assurance that only a slayer's time in the mix could give. Confidence, mixed with caution. No arrogance though. She'd learned that lesson as well. She looked up at the slayer, not willing to back down. "I think with some training, you could do pretty well. You've had a lot of years experience beforehand after all. Buffy, look, come back to us. Can't you see what's happening?"

Buffy shook her head. She didn't particularly like the seemingly superior tone that the younger and therefore more inexperience slayer was using. Even though it appeared that the redhead was unaware. "No, maybe you should enlighten me."

Vi stood up, forcing the other slayer to take a step back. "I don't know you very well. All most of us had was Sunnydale, we all weren't in the best state back there. Then you left pretty soon after; didn't come see any of us that often. It was a bad time. For a lot of us. I understand that. But, with things the way they are, and the effect we're having, we need to be a lot better than what we were at the end back then if we expect to survive."

"Oh? I thought we did pretty well back then. Even if we did lose, Spike." Buffy brushed off the mention of her past lover. "We destroyed the First and beat his army, even if we did lose the town. It wasn't perfect, but it worked."

"And that's enough to think you should be in charge? Over Faith, for instance?" Vi remarked. "What if that amulet didn't work? Did you even know what it would do? Or did you just think that since you were the good guy, that everything would just work out? What was your plan B? You with the Scythe against thousands of turok-han?"

"I suppose you had a better way?" Buffy threw back, though she tried to keep it under control. There were shades of what she had heard before. From Xander. Some of which she had admitted to herself, much of it still not. Though she could hardly admit to the other slayer now, if she wanted to re-establish her position. Her dominance.

"Of course not. I wasn't much of anything. A scared little girl." Vi admitted, to the older slayer as well as to herself.. Though it hadn't been that way for very long. Her calling had drew something out of her. An inner strength. One of the things that she knew that Xander loved about her. What the rest were was another question. But, that was a thought for another time. "Still, looking back on it now, with all the training and all the field time I have now, it's another matter. It shouldn't have worked. That it did, is a miracle. A lucky break. I don't think we have many of those laying around for the future."

"Get all that from Xander now?" Buffy continued her move back and angled to the wall nearest the door. She headed towards the dresser in a smooth and continuous move, not wanting to appear to back down. She looked down. "He seems to have gotten you convinced."

"He didn't have to convince me of anything. He just laid everything out," Vi remarked, "and let me decide for myself. All of us. I'm glad you're back, never mind what happened in New York, but hey I had to watch out for my boyfriend the same as you did. And, we both think you can contribute, but you need to work your way back in. Find your place in the mix here. Not get Giles to force you on us. That's not going to do anything but make the other slayers more hostile towards you. More hostile than they are even now."

Buffy didn't say anything. She looked at the necklace that was lying on the dresser. Her Valley Girl upbringing pre-slayer clued her in on the value. Despite its rather antiquated design.

"Look. I know we all have a lot of history now. Baggage. But, I think we can work past it. I mean, the tactical mistakes of the past can be learning experiences. For both of us." Vi wondered a bit why she was trying so hard. She knew that it was of the good to have Buffy on her side. It would be much easier to run the Council if Giles' slayer hole card was not against them. She still did draw weight after all. Though she had to admit that part of it was that she would be glad to help Xander and Buffy reconcile. They had been good friends in the past, and though he would be loath to admit it, he did miss the loss of that friendship. "Please. For Xander's sake, maybe you could just take a step back and rethink things."

"Xander," Buffy repeated. She picked up the necklace and turned around. "Is he all you can talk about?"

She raised the necklace. "You spread your legs for him and he buys you pretty things? And suddenly you're the slayer?"

"You're one to talk. At least I have a man that actually cares about me, and doesn't just see me as a conquest to tell all of his leech buddies." Vi glared at the other woman. She narrowed her eyes. "I'm trying to do this for the both of you. For his sake, I suggest you put that back where you got it before I break both your arms."

Buffy was momentarily stunned at the serious look on the young slayer's face. The redhead wasn't bluffing. She dropped the necklace back on the dresser. "How do you think this is going to end? With Xander taking over the Council? Do you really think he should be running it? Or would it just be so that you can get a better position than just one of many."

"Please. Like Xander would want to run things." Vi scoffed at the thought. In the future, after a lot of experience, and if things turned in unexpected ways, he may have the desire. But, not now, she knew that much. Not after all he had to do simply to get things working as they currently were. "And, I'm getting pretty tired of you criticizing my relationship with Xander. Just because you couldn't get yours to work, doesn't mean that we're all as screwed up as you are in that department."

"You think I'd want Xander?" Buffy nearly exclaimed, somewhat insulted at the thought. Not noticing that it was rather insulting to the one male that had always supported her, even if that meant going against her.

"Now isn't the time to compare the _men_ you've dated," Vi said, not wanting to get into that particular argument. Though in her mind, of all the men she'd heard that Buffy might have had a possible romantic interest in, Robin was the only one that she had particularly respected. And even that hadn't been for long, and she had lost that opportunity to Faith. "And I certainly don't want to hear about the demons."

Buffy just glared at the other slayer.

"Look, for your sake, I really hope you open your eyes soon." Vi took a softer tone. She didn't hate Buffy after all. Far from it. Whatever had happened in the past, she still owed Buffy quite a bit. A large amount of that goodwill had already been wasted. And the remainder was dwindling at a fairly quick clip. "Can't you see what's happening? The slayers are already not what you thought they'd be. You were gone too long. If you think you can shape them now, it's too late. It's a long time too late. You can't just jump back into things hoping that you can turn back the clock. It doesn't work that way. And look at them. Really look at them. They're successful. How long was the average life expectancy of a slayer back when you were the only?"

Buffy couldn't come up with a response to that.

"You think it's that way now? Why are you so quick to turn things back? You. You of all people." Vi looked Buffy in the eyes. "You should see how it's better this way. The girls, the girls you made slayers, are safer and more effective than ever. Isn't that what you should want for them? Isn't that what any slayer would want for them? Yes, much of that is due to Xander. But, much of that is due to him letting us be what we were meant to. He gave us the means and opportunity. Not just orders."

Vi sighed and looked down. She walked to the dresser and put the necklace back in the box. She closed it carefully. "Come back. Come back to the slayers. Come back to us. We can use you. Not as a leader, not in the beginning at least. That's something you have to earn. But, you will always have a place here. But, you need to get over yourself if you think that that place is as the Slayer. We're all slayers here. And if need be, we don't need you."

She glanced over at the closed wooden box. She turned to Buffy, her eyes turning hard. "The only reason why I haven't beaten you again is because you're still Xander's friend. But, if you continue to test that and continue to get in the way, then I may just forget. And that's the only warning you're ever going to get."

Vi walked over to the door and opened it. Her voice was hard and unwavering. "Now get out."

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Xander leaned against the roof. He put the last bit of chalk back into his shoulder bag. The robes he had worn up the building were on the ground next to him. On top of them was the wig he had worn. He was glad to be rid of it. It itched more than the facial hair that still adorned his face. A balaclava was now on his head. Along with the set of night vision goggles, rigged for thermal. It would be more useful for what he was planning.

It hadn't taken much effort to get to the spot. The rather rundown house was in the proverbial bad section of town. Old City. There weren't that many people that lived there. In the section that he was in, in any case. Good for them, with the less people to find them. Bad for them, because it meant he actually had a chance to pull it off.

Though it had been some task to get up to the top of the building without the people in the house next to him noticing.

Xander checked his watch, pressing a button on the side to illuminate the dial. He made sure it wasn't visible from across the roof. The squat chimney hid him from the sentry posted on top of the other building, but if any lights managed to make it out of cover then it would blow his chance.

He had only a little more than seven minutes left. The charges that had been planted would take out the power and the phones. Given the area, blackouts weren't exactly unusual. That was the limit of what Barnes could help with. Not exactly access to the power systems and the phone lines. More keys and schematics to the local power plant. He had to do the rest with the explosives that he had bought off of Barnes' supplier. Still even with access, it wasn't like he could have hacked the systems anyway. Doing things on his lonesome could get all kinds of annoying.

The man was now dressed in nearly complete black. Obvious tactical wear, once hidden beneath local robes. Simple cover. Unlike the content of the movies and television there were no perfect disguises. No lifelike masks that could completely change one's appearance. Ironically, real covert disguises were done exactly like the effects of movies of old. Makeup, wigs, and glue. Still, it worked. And was much easier than trying anything too exotic. He reached over to one of his bags and pulled out a radio scrambler. If anybody in the tall house next door was using unshielded communications, it would take them out. He set a timer on it to coincide with the power outage.

Xander reached into the bag again and pulled out a small dagger and a small plastic bag. The bag squirmed a little, though that had to do with the small brown mouse that was trying to find a way out. It squeaked a little, though the noise was droned out by the sounds of the city.

Xander checked his watch again. Only a few minutes left. He opened the bag and took a hold of the mouse, making sure that it couldn't get out. He made sure that it couldn't bite him, the gloves probably wouldn't be enough protection against its teeth. Street mice like the little thing in his hands could have all sorts of diseases. He looked at it for a second. It was something of a shame. The little mouse, in its own way, was innocent. Still, it was just a mouse; he'd killed more intelligent things, and for much less reason. He whispered, "Ares, God of War. The blood I shed tonight is spilled in your name. Grant me your favor, and the world will bleed. Uh, and stuff."

It probably wasn't exactly what the war prayers of old were like. Still, it was Ares. He didn't really care as long as people died in battle, and blood was taken. For a god, the old war lord could be rather humble.

Xander slashed the knife through the mouse. Its head tumbled down, the neck spurt a little blood. He made sure that it was aimed away from anything he had to take with him. Wouldn't look right to have blood on his clothes. He dropped the mouse back in the bag and tossed it aside. At least it had been quick. The sacrifice didn't suffer. It was the least he could do.

He checked his watch. There was only thirty seconds left. Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out a small lighter. He pulled down his mask and pulled his vision enhancing equipment down over his face, just above his eyes. He checked his watch again.

He flicked the lighter and held it to a thick candle that had been attached to the roof in the circle of chalk lines he had carefully drawn on the roof. He counted down, waiting until a second to go. He whispered, "Obscurate."

The lights of the city block went down. He lit the candle, then tossed the lighter aside. Xander placed the thermal goggles down over his face and turned them on. He made his way to the edge of the chimney and peeked around the corner. A veil of darkness had descended over the building next to him. It wouldn't last long though and didn't extend past the building next door. Given, his lack of magical power, it would only last for ten minutes at most. A witch of Cindy or Willow's power could have held it nearly indefinitely, even while tossing other spells back and forth. He on the other hand, couldn't. He had had to resort to a fairly intricate hermetic ritual to do a spell that Willow pulled off easily as a senior in high school with nothing more than a candle.

The sentry looked lost. He undoubtedly was. The clouding spell would obscure all vision; keep them from firing back. Of course, that was limited to the normal visual range of a human. Xander raised his weapon, the foldable stock was already in place, and flicked on the IR laser. He held it over the sentry's head and fired twice. The bullets impacted less than a millisecond later, they ripped an ugly hole in the back of the man's head and exited the front. The body fell as Xander ran forward. He jumped the gap between the houses, and rolled as he hit to minimize the impact. He checked around, there was nobody else there and no shouts to get to the roof. The suppressor that he had brought with him had been magicked up by the same armorers he had had do the Council's new line of guns. Quiet as death, and it meant that nobody would have heard him.

Xander raised his weapon again, holding the butt against his shoulder and moved forward towards the door. The real work was about to begin.

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Author's Note: I got most of the geography and other characteristics from wikipedia, so if it's wrong, it's cause I didn't do enough research.

I know that I haven't had that many scenes with other characters and what they're up to. I am trying to work on that, though it's hard to find the appropriate places. That, and the story is intended to be mostly told through Xander's point of view. He doesn't know what the others are thinking and isn't there, so there is a limitation to what he knows.


	61. Chapter Sixty

**Chapter 60: The Kill House**

Xander descended into the house slowly after checking the guard. Standard mercenary ware. Including a bullet proof vest. Not all of them bothered with one. It was a narrow apartment house of three stories, though mostly abandoned at this point. A twin of the one that he had set up his gear at. It had been why he had simply been able to jump the near approximately ten foot gap across rooftops. The recon he had been able to do had identified close to twenty people inside. Minus one.

There was nobody readily visible. The power outrage had not caused panic. Still, it meant they couldn't see him. He stayed as quiet as he could, testing each room as he went. The thermal imaging worked extremely well. Though the veil caused everything in the house to appear a few degrees cooler than normal. The butt of the Russian submachine gun was tight against his shoulder as he searched through the apartment rooms.

Xander stopped. He did so now and again to see if he could determine what the people in the house were doing. From the sounds of it, the dealers in the house were still stumbling around. Not loudly though. Power outages were probably even expected. That they were able to stay calm spoke of some amount of professionalism. Still, the veil would blend with the power outage and add more to the atmosphere of nothingness. Though blind they may be, it didn't mean they were dumb. They could also get twitchy. They could not take care to not hit their own and start firing blindly. And even those shots could get lucky. Which would be unlucky for him.

He saw a man wander through the hall from the direction of the stairwell down and raised his weapon. Another man was keeping covering from further down the hall. They hadn't noticed him yet since he had stopped. With no sounds, there was no way for them to notice him.

Xander placed the laser sight center on the head of the closest man and pulled the trigger twice. Two quick shots and the house was down by one. He adjusted his aim as the man behind became aware of the sound of the falling body. Before the guard could speak, Xander squeezed the trigger again sending two bullets into the head of the other man. The body fell down, with a thud as well. Not exactly softly, but not loudly either. It could be mistaken for street sounds. No one yelled out. No one ran down any hallways running towards the stairs to his position. Nothing to give him away. Yet.

Xander checked to make sure it was clear as he went in closer and searched the two men. There was a radio each, scrambled from the equipment he had set up on the roof of the next building over. Slung rifles and sidearms were their common gear. From the feel, AK-47's. He couldn't tell the make of the handguns. There was no body armor for each either. It was curious given the man on the roof. Unless they felt safe in their little society abandoned sanctuary. Xander couldn't tell what the men looked like, but from the feel of their belts, they both were carrying jambiyas. The short curved blade was unmistakable. He had carried one himself along with his disguise. The dagger he had purchased for cheap on the street for disguise purposes had been replaced with a combat knife when he went to tactical mode.

In the back of his mind he noted that it likely meant that the two men were Yemeni. Either local hires for protection work or the team of dealers were using the house because they were natives. It could give them an advantage if things got out of hand and he had to run. While the jambiya was Arab in origin, it was mostly carried by Yemeni men at this point. It was interesting trivia, but was probably unnecessary. Hopefully.

He paced forward, making his way through the hall to the stairs. He methodically checked every apartment along the way. It ate up valuable time, but it needed to be done. If he had a full team, or teams, they could have been searched much easier. Hell, if he had a magic user they could have done an astral scan or at least a more accurate than goggles wide scale thermal trace if the assigned mage wasn't that powerful. Too bad those tricks were ones that rituals and planning couldn't recreate. At least not without consequences to his performance. Xander checked the last room, the one nearest the door, and found it clear.

A part of his mind found the process tedious. It was ignored. He simply lowered the fiber optic thermal camera under the door and swung it around, like he had all of the previous doorways. The door was then opened and he searched the other rooms inside. The small nature of the apartments was a godsend. It was only a matter of seconds to check each apartment. Luckily, there were only a few apartments on the floor. Each floor of the living areas, according to the provided specifications. It seemed like the plans were mostly accurate. Barnes had actually come up with something useful.

The floor didn't give up much more than the two men. They were probably on sentry duty and had been advised to venture up to make sure that the top floor was secure. They probably didn't send too many up there in case something happened and they had to open fire. It would be a bad thing if they got caught in their own crossfire. The others would probably all be crowded near the bomb to protect it. Or at some other meeting point.

Xander turned to the stairwell and walked down. He was careful to stay against the wall. It would lessen any potential creaking. He didn't want anybody firing potshots at him. They might get a lucky shot in. And that wouldn't make for a good night.

He reached bottom and moved forward again, carefully since he heard sounds on that floor. They were extremely close to him, relatively speaking. Xander looked at the wall next to him. It was in a dilapidated state and was missing a large chunk. It let him see into the family room of the small apartment that was closest to the stairwell he had come down.

Xander quietly aimed his weapon. There were six men inside. Oddly enough, they weren't in any type of combat position. From the looks of it they were fiddling with some power generator. Likely a backup for the now forced unreliability of the power grid. None faced him, though it wouldn't have really mattered if they had been.

If there had been sentries they'd probably been pulled back once the power had gone down. Two had then been sent to check out the third floor. Maybe even check in with the guard on the roof. Good thing he had gotten there in time.

He ran through the shots he needed to make in his head. He would take the one closest to him with a single shot to the head. He would be able to get the next to the same way. The others would happen faster.

He started, the first dropping as the next one was hit. Then the third. It took a number of more shots to get the rest as they reacted to the feel of the men dying. In the close distance the report of his weapon was still audible. Luckily, none of the other men were able to pull their AK-47s off their shoulders and get a round off. He was still the Invisible Man.

Xander moved in and searched the men, the only real thing of interest was the lack of body armor again. Looked like they had been pretty settled in to their little home. Let all sorts of things slide. Still, they were armed with the same ubiquitous mercenary and terrorists weapons that were prevalent among such men as these. Nobody carried any explosives though, which was somewhat odd. No grenades of any kind. From the looks of it, it wasn't because they were underfunded. Likely it was because they didn't want to risk any explosions going off near a nuclear warhead. Though technically, even a grenade going off nearby shouldn't have been enough to set one of them off. Even one of the age that the warhead must have been, if it had been taken from old Soviet stock.

All of the men were dead. And the number just kept falling. The man in black went back into the hall. He didn't know exactly where the warhead was, but it would likely be near the center of the building. Psychologically speaking, that was where the people inside would have felt that it was the safest. Didn't help the rest of them, however.

He made his way forward again and started checking rooms. Luckily, the rooms were clear of people too. Like the ones on the floor above. It wasn't that surprising. The more people there the more likely information would have liked about the weapon. As it was, it actually had. Ironically, at this point it would probably have been in their best interest to have had more men stationed at the apartment house. Given that it had already been compromised and now penetrated. But, there was always imperfect information. It was what won battles. And why he may actually pull it off in the small amount of time that he had been able to steal away from the light.

He found nobody in the apartment next to the one that he had cleared with gunfire, though it wasn't a surprise since they probably would have came out when they heard the men fall if they had existed. Xander moved to the next door down and fit the small head of his camera under the door. There was nobody inside, but there appeared to be a large wooden box in the middle of the main room. He angled the camera up, checking for any booby traps. If it was the target, the traps would likely be set up in that room. They hadn't been in any of the others that he had searched. Luckily, it was clean. Or at least as clean as a thermal image could give him.

He reached up and tried the door, but it was locked. Unlike the other doors. He could pick locks, a couple of lessons from one of the ex-cons that had been on his construction crew. Good guy, one that had turned a new leaf. Didn't mean he wouldn't teach his boss a trick or too. He lowered his weapon and let it hang by its sling. Xander pulled out his lock pick kit and got to work. It was a cheap lock, not even a deadbolt, and didn't take much effort to crack it.

Xander walked in carefully, making sure there weren't any traps set further in the room. There weren't any pressure pads or tripwires that he could determine. He wondered if that bespoke of laziness or lack of imagination. Maybe even confidence. Whatever it was, it was helping him.

He wondered if the prayer to Ares' had had an effect. In the present godly political structure, such prayers to certain gods went unanswered. Or, only slight influence could be handed out in order to prevent detection from the current power structure. It could explain why he was having such good luck. One wonders would he would have gotten if he had used a better sacrifice. A goat perhaps. Or at best, the blood of a sacrificed enemy warrior.

It could even explain the lack of strong enemy forces making active patrols. Although, if they were worried about hitting each other, then they may have been reluctant to send out sentries. One on the roof. Two on the top floor. A group next to the bomb; aware of themselves and their placement so they wouldn't get caught in a crossfire. It did make a certain amount of sense. Which still left the last of them elsewhere.

After the quick search it was evidence that there was nobody inside the apartment. Xander went back into the main room. He reached the large open box and looked inside. The goggles distorted the image, but it was obvious what was inside. It was his target.

He examined the warhead. It was resting on foam cushions. It was obviously customized. There was a triggering mechanism that had been attached. Which would have been necessary since it was just the warhead. The actual arming mechanism would have been housed elsewhere on the missile delivery system. At least it was that way on the schematics he had been passed.

Xander checked the electronic trigger. It was deactivated. There was no remote trigger attached either. Whoever these guys were, they were technically competent. And they weren't interested in committing suicide. Or at least, not on a large scale in the middle of a Muslim country. Barnes' reports had been vague at best. Loose ties to jihadists. But, nothing that would speak of a major action. Terrorists they may be, but they were businessmen first.

Xander pulled a brick of plastic explosive out of a pouch and set it next to the warhead. He placed a trigger into the claylike surface and set it for ten minutes. If anything happened to him during the clearing of the house, at least the mission would still be accomplished. Small consolation to himself if it came down to that though.

The man in black turned around and exited the room. He closed the door behind him, making sure it wouldn't slam. He still needed to clear the rest of the house before he made his move. For intel reasons. Because Barnes had specified it. Not that it hadn't made sense to him though. And for his own reasons too.

The people in the house had somehow been able to obtain a nuclear warhead. That type of operation wasn't easy to pull off. And if they had the proven capability to do it, there was no reason they couldn't have done it again. Even an attempt could go badly. Even worse, it could inspire others to try it for themselves. They all had to be eliminated for the threat to be truly dealt with.

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Faith looked out the window into the warehouse proper below her current position. A small team of women were slowly making there way through the labyrinthine setup on the first floor. Makeshift walls had been set up to approximate the design of a rundown office building. One of a number of common urban environments that the slayers would need to be prepared for. The modular design of the training room made coming up with scenarios a snap.

She watched as the team leader, this time Donna, ran a seven woman squad through their paces. It was her first crack at leadership in a field situation. No more walking lines out on the lawn in the House. This time was for real. Well, simulated reality at least. There were no name for the team yet though. That came later. The group of slayers hadn't had a chance to see if they fit together well yet. Or if the picked leader had the chops for it.

Faith watched as two groups of ten slowly made their forward from the opposite side of the warehouse. They were armed with a mixture of weapons. Some carried bats. Others guns. One of them was carrying a staff. Stuff that could be found on the mean streets of Cleveland.

Donna tensed slightly as she felt the presence of the groups coming towards her position. Her slayers senses told her how they were coming at them from the front. Two groups that had had to converge to come into the hallway. Her slayer instincts told her to move in and attack. She suppressed them though. As she had been taught. Instincts were an inherent disposition towards a particular method of response towards stimuli. There was a reason why humans had been blessed with intelligence. It meant that they didn't have to rely on instinct to blunder their way through every situation.

The slayer raised her hand, stopping her team in the large hallway. She indicted that they should spread out and find cover. The slayers in her team, green though they were, did as she ordered. They found cover wherever they could. Behind crates and stacks of machinery. The team made sure that their lines of fire stayed open though they had overlapping fields of fire. In some cases they were going to be firing within inches of each other. They had to make sure that they only moved within their specific areas. And that they only fired within their specific quadrants. Anything else could mean shooting one of their sisters in the back.

The attackers moved in slowly, staying behind cover as much as possible. They were dressed in black. They blended in well with the darkness, but it wasn't much help against the enhanced vision of the slayers. The other issue was that they had just come in through the one door into a narrower area.

Slayer instincts, the first Slayer, told them to meet their enemies in the field of battle. To attack. To draw blood. Out in the open. Of course, that would even the playing field. For their enemies. And the idea was to be as unfair of possible. Cause every chance one gave the enemy, was just increasing the chances of not backing it home after the night was done.

Donna aimed at the lead target. She held fire until the target group had entered the long hallway. She centered her fire on the target's center of mass and squeezed the trigger twice. It was a tight grouping. The paintballs splattered a bright neon green across the slayer playing bad guy. The target in black looked down at her chest and dropped to the floor. Officially taken out of the exercise.

If it had been a vampire, and Donna had been firing the right kind of rounds, it would have been dust. The paint splatter roughly approximated the fragmenting that the wood pack bullets would create. A lot less fuss than trying to jab a stake into her heart while fending off the baseball bat that the mock vampire had been carrying.

The other slayers in Donna's group had fired as soon as the lead slayer had. They took out any targets within their specified areas, making sure not to stray. They trusted that the slayers around them would be able to take out any targets that moved out of their own areas.

It didn't take long before all of the designated vampires had been taken out. A few had managed to fire off a few rounds of their own, but with the proper application of cover, none had connected.

Faith nodded to herself as she saw the attack go down. It hadn't been a particularly difficult exercise. The designated enemies of the training exercise hadn't shown a particularly impressive display of tactics. As was the idea. The average vampire wasn't much of a fighter. They tended to be brawlers who relied on their supernatural strength and stamina. And when working together, they tended to just mass and attack.

It would be a good lesson for the typical street encounters that the slayers would face on patrol and how to deal with them as a single unit. The harder stuff would come later. If they were ever to be more than patrol slayers. They needed to build confidence. Of course, they'd have to face some of the teams in the future. Couldn't have them being too confident. That would get them killed.

Faith heard the door behind her open and close. She didn't look back, but she knew that it was Giles. She was somewhat surprised. This was the first time that he had come to the training facility. In fact, as far as she could remember, this was the first time that she had seen him come to see any of the slayers train when they did it outside of the House or its grounds. He probably hadn't been at the gun range, nor the gym that Xander had hooked them up with. The one that a number of the slayers had taken to practicing hand to hand when they had free time. The basement was used mostly for demonstrations and intro classes now.

"Can I do something for you, Giles?" Faith continued to watch as Donna and her crew made sure all of the targets were down and that the area was secure. It was fast work. They checked the rest of the training area afterwards.

"You could tell me what you're doing." Giles came up to stand next to the slayer. Things hadn't turned out very well. Xander was proving to be more difficult to handle than he had previously thought. Riley Finn had been his best chance had dealing with the situation in a less than public manner. The head watcher couldn't prove it, and it was denied by the young army captain, but he heavily suspected that Xander had gotten to him. That unnerved him a great deal.

"What does it look like?" Faith turned and looked towards what was officially, her boss. "I'm overseeing their training."

"Buffy's come to see me." Giles looked out into the warehouse. The slayers were cleaning up. He recognized a few of their names by just looking at them, but most of them he didn't remember. There were simply too many.

"Oh really," Faith said, not surprised in the least. She had expected the watcher to come down and lay down the law. It had to happen sooner or later after his prodigal slayer had come back.

"She says that you are impeding her attempt to lead the slayers," Giles stated. The disapproving tone was quite evident.

Faith took a moment. She knew that was coming too. It didn't mean it didn't hurt any less. After the year or so she'd been in charge, she'd thought she'd proven herself. Looked like there were still a number on the Council that didn't think that was so. Funny that it was Xander of all people that had seen the most potential in her. "You don't say."

"I think, that in the interest of reintegrating Buffy back into our group, you should step back for a while. Let her take some responsibilities on," Giles explained. He didn't notice the expression on Faith's face. "There are other duties that you can do for the time being."

"Shouldn't you be telling them this?" Faith nodded her chin at the slayers that were just finishing up. "I mean, if you're going to be giving orders and all."

"I think that it would be best if it came from you," The watcher said, as diplomatically as he could. He could anticipate the slayer's reaction. Given Faith's tendency towards unpleasent reactions, it wasn't something he would like to face.

Faith looked at the watcher with a less than pleased expression. That was the sum total of what she allowed to show however. "And that would be because, what, I'm their leader and they'll listen to me?"

"Essentially, yes." Giles stated simply. He was glad to see that Faith hadn't blown up. There was a chance he could convince her yet.

The slayer rolled her eyes. "So, I'm their leader and I'm the only one they're going to listen to. And yet, you want me to tell them to listen to Buffy? The one that nearly got them all killed in Sunnydale and then took off after dumping everything on them? Are you high? No really. Are you?"

"Faith. Please take this seriously." Giles sighed. She may not have shouted, but she could still demonstrate how unhappy she was in a less than professional manner. "This is a time of transition. We all need to make sure it goes as smoothly as we can."

"Time of transition?" Faith echoed. "You mean getting me out of there. Putting your precious Buffy back in. And getting rid of Xander."

"Faith. Do you honestly think you're the best one to lead them? You remember what happened during your tenure as leader of the slayers back in Sunnydale? Buffy may have left, but she did lead them succesfully in the final battle." Giles sighed. "As for Xander, do you really think that his influence is good for them?"

Faith looked down into the cleared warehouse. The slayers were downstairs going through the battle again. They retraced their steps, without weapons this time, and analyzed the actions of everyone involved from every possible perspective. Finding the parts they did right. And finding the parts that they needed to improve.

Donna had the lead on that part of the operation. Leading her team in finding their weaknesses. As well as their strengths. From the looks of it, they were forming up to be a pretty decent squad.

She looked back to the watcher. "I'd say he's having a pretty good influence on them so far. How many slayers have been killed after Xander came back?"

"Well…" Giles started to get out. He knew the figure, though he wasn't convinced it had been due to Xander's contributions. It wasn't like Xander was the only one there.

"Zero. None of them," Faith stated. She looked down. "Which is a lot better than losing who we did back before."

"Faith…" Giles couldn't exactly deny the accusation, as loath as he was to admit it.

She looked back up. "No. The fact is that we're all still here because of him. That's not an exaggeration. I'm not just talking about combat and training. And, despite what you've tried to do, he's not going to give up the ones that were in Germany. Though, I can't imagine he isn't tempted too."

"He wouldn't do that." Giles replied, trying to come up with something to say.

"Right. He wouldn't," Faith repeated. She turned to the watcher, wondering if he actually understood the man that he had known longer than she had. "Because that's who he is. Loyal. To a fault, considering he's still trying to back you. But, the thing is, that only protects us so far. Get it yet?"

Giles shook his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Take a look around you." Faith waved a hand at the window out. "Where do you think this comes from? Where do you think all of the customized weapons come from? The special ammo. The magicked parts. Sure, our mages can recreate some of that, but where do you think we're going to get the guns? You get rid of Xander, and it all goes away. The equipment. The training facilities. You think that the girls are simply going to accept that? What are you going to tell them? That because you have a beef with him, you're going to put the girls, my girls, at risk. Is that what you're honestly going to tell them? Cause I don't think that's going to fly."

"He works for someone else. He is not with the Council. I think that you should make them aware that he may be asking them to serve a new master. Not like how it is here." Giles said. "Why are you defending him? I thought you didn't even like him."

Faith shrugged. It seemed like Giles still didn't get the point. Though she had warmed up to the young man of late. They still had baggage, but that didn't interfere. The bottom line was that she respected him. "That's the point though. It's not about how I feel about him. All that matters is what he's doing. And how valuable that is to us all. And you know what, I'm shocked that you would think that he'd use the slayers like you're suggesting. Did you ever really now him? Or was he always some annoying little boy that you felt was beneath this all."

Giles thought about it. It did explain why Faith was so willing to follow him, despite the things she had said about him. As for Xander, whatever their relationship was, or had been, it couldn't affect what he need to do now. It couldn't affect what he needd to protect.

"You need to remember what you're doing here. If you think that Xander is a problem, fine. But, if you remove him, then that's going to have consequences." Faith looked at the man she had respected. "You need to decide if it's worth it simply because you have a problem with what he's doing. I suggest you take a good long damn look at what it is that everyone's doing. Before you decide to do something permenant."

"And where do you stand?" Giles asked after a moment. He looked Faith in the eyes.

"With my sisters." Faith shrugged. "You can have Buffy try to lead some of the sessions if you want. And you can even try to remove Xander. But, he's been here too long. And you haven't been here long enough."

"I disagree," Giles stated.

"You know what? I'm sick of this shit." Faith shook her head. "It ends here. It ends now. I'm not going to help you try to get rid of Xander. So, don't even try to convince me to. Cause my girls aren't going to stand for it. If you keep trying it, then you're on your own."

Faith saw that the slayers had run through their run through. She gathered her supplies together and picked them up. The slayer headed towards the door out into the warehouse proper. Faith noticed that the head watcher had been watching the trainee slayers and hadn't moved.

"I have to go and debrief them all." She opened the door and looked over her shoulder. "We're all working for the same thing here. You need to remember that. And, for what's it worth. Xander scares the hell out of me. You have no idea what he's capable of. If you want this war, then you'll get it. But, I honestly don't think you're ready for what'll be coming to you. Isn't that why you wanted to get rid of him in the first place?"

She walked out the door and closed it behind her.

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He searched the rest of the rooms on the floor. They were empty. Which meant that the rest of the inhabitants would be on the last floor down. The ground floor. Which was something of an unfortunate turn of events. The lack of reaction was getting on his nerves. Normally, they should be panicking. Or at least had made some type of move. He couldn't even hear anything going on down below.

Xander walked to the front of the stairs, making sure he covered the area in front of him. The stairwell was clear, so he moved back, out of sight. He pulled the magazine out of his gun and placed it back into a pocket. He pulled a fresh one and inserted it carefully. Another thirty rounds of permanent bliss.

Xander carefully walked down the stairs. He moved his legs carefully, making sure he kept his upper body straight and steady. If he needed to aim quickly he didn't need his legs messing up a shot with an unfortunate jostling.

There was a storefront downstairs. From the looks of it, the rest of the men were struggling with night vision goggles. Not like it would help. Unlike his thermals, night vision goggles relied on ambient light to work. With nothing to amplify they were as blind as, people in the dark.

Xander watched as one of them attempted to work his radio. He raised his submachine gun and stalked forward. He found cover behind the store's counter and got into a crouch. He glanced at the boarded up windows that faced the street. Nobody would be able to see them. And nobody would be likely to be walking the streets in front. Properly due to the power outage. A lucky break if one of his targets could a burst off. AK-47 fire could be quite loud. And was unmistakeable.

Xander slowly flicked the selector switch to full auto and raised his weapon. The heat differentials matched what he had seen on the ones on the second and third floors. It leant a high probability to a lack of body armor. Precision shots would have been better, but he needed quick putdowns over clean ones. He aimed at the center of the group and pulled the trigger in controlled bursts. He made sure to cover the entire area.

Whispers filled the room. And some gun smoke added to the veil in the air. In all six bodies fell to the floor.

Xander replaced the mag on his weapon again and moved forward, setting the gun back on single shot mode. He checked the bodies, pumping another two rounds into the head of one that was still twitching.

He turned and looked around at the empty shelves of the store, noticing that there were no heat signatures on the other side of the store.

Xander bent down and searched the bodies. Most had nothing of interest, except for their weapons. The last, the leader most likely, had a small notebook on him. He pulled it out and put it into his pocket.

Xander heard a sound behind him and swung, weapon pointing forward. He saw a small form try to pick up a large rifle. The strewn rubble and other material likely hid his body. The heat masked by something. The small form meant it was likely a child, someone that wouldn't have gone out for a reason and may have stayed out of sight of the windows. That was unfortunate.

Of course, that last bit didn't cross his mind as he aimed his submachine gun and placed the laser sight over the child's head. He pulled the trigger twice. The soft rounds went in through the forehead and blew out the back. Brains and bits of skull would likely have been splashed across the floor and wall. Though all he saw was a bit of heat bloom that died away. That and a small form drop down to the ground.

Xander moved forward and checked the body. From up close he could tell that it was a child. A dead one. He patted it down, but there was nothing of interest. He moved forward again and checked the rest of the storefront. There was nobody left alive. And still nobody was on the street from the sounds of it.

He pulled the bodies out of sight and lay them down behind the counter top. The windows may be blocked, but if anybody actually ventured into the store, perhaps for looting opportunities, he didn't want anybody noticing anything was wrong until he was well away from it. None of the short shelves had been disturbed, so unless someone saw the blood, nobody would notice. The smell would, but that would only be after a couple of days. He should be gone by then. Of course, given the abandoned nature of the building, hopefully nobody would even check in for at least a week.

Xander walked back up the stairs. He still didn't relax. He reached the second floor again and went to the room that held the nuclear warhead. He checked it again with the fiber optic camera and went inside.

He crossed over and pulled the brick of explosives out. There were roughly thirty seconds left as he turned off the detonator. The faint LED lights had left just enough of a trace to let him know that. Of course, he had been counting down in his head as well. That was one of the reasons why he had gone back up. Enough time to make sure things were properly done.

He placed it onto the floor of the apartment, away from the warhead. Xander pulled out a piece of blood chalk from a pack on his belt. He bent down and let his weapon hang free. He drew a large circle slowly around the wooden box. Another circle went around it. Inside the two rings he drew a careful crisscrossing pattern of runes. It didn't take too long. He knew he didn't have much time left.

The blood chalk left little lines of heat that wavered in his vision. The magical circle was complete. He made sure that it was done correctly.

Xander knelt outside it and pulled a dressing from his belt and laid it on the ground beside him. He withdrew his knife from his scabbard. He pulled back the sleeve on his left arm and wiped it off with a cloth.

He took a breath and pressed the tip of his knife into his forearm. He held his arm over the chalk outline and let his life's blood drip over the chalk line.

One. Two. Three drops.

The last of the blood hit and the magical circle glowed a malevolent red. The heat bloomed in his goggles and he closed his eyes to wait till a passed. And to prepare for what came next.

The pain hit hard in his lower stomach and he grunted. He clenched his teeth; so hard that he thought that they might crack. It was a struggle to stay in the kneeling position, but he rode the wave, waiting for it to dissipate. It wasn't near quick enough for his tastes. But, that was the breaks.

The pain was the price. He didn't have any natural stores of magical energy. He couldn't pull it out of the ground like some wizards could. Which meant that to power the spell, he had had to give up some of himself. Pain in this case. Not permanent, thankfully, but it would hurt for a while. Bad in a combat situation. One of the reasons why he had had to kill everyone in the apartment house beforehand. It wouldn't have been very good if he had been found in a less than ideal state. Good way to get himself shot.

He wiped the knife off and placed it back into its holder. The dressing was bound tight around his arm. Xander was sure not to let any blood drip where it shouldn't.

He looked over the circle, making sure it was properly activated with all of the runes energized. He whispered, his voice obscured by the cloth mask, "converto."

The circle flashed white this time and he was forced to look away. The spell had activated as it should. He was pretty sure it worked right. There would be no extreme radioactive spread after the destruction of the target. Barnes had wanted to have it retrieved. It would have been a real coup for the US to hang over the Russians in the future. Of course, after he had been on site and had scoped the situation he knew that it would be impossible to retrieve it for Barnes. For a number of reasons.

He noticed the magical veil drop, his time up, but he ignored it. It had lasted longer than anticipated, maybe a bit of extra Ares in the mix. Whatever the reason, he didn't dwell on it. There was still work to be done.

Xander got up and pulled a small bottle of bleach out of his pocket. He rubbed a boot into the magical circle, breaking the connection. The man in black opened the bottle of bleach and splashed it over the blood he had spilt, making sure he got every drop. He replaced the bottle and reached over for the explosive. He set it for five minutes and laid it next to his target. He inserted a remote detonator into the brick as well. A different frequency than was currently scrambled so he didn't have to worry about the signal not getting through. Just in case.

It was the reason for the spellwork. Well, one of them anyways. It wouldn't do to have strong radioactive material spread all over the place. The area may have been crap, but the people there were likely innocent. The corpses excluded. They didn't deserve to get dosed because of something a bunch of whackjobs decided to do in their neighborhood.

Xander gathered up his supplies and made sure the area was sterilized of his presence. There would be nothing that would link one Alexander Harris to this house on this street in this country.

He walked rapidly down the hall and headed to the stairs leading to the next floor up. He went through it quickly, heading towards the roof. It was still clear, the only inhabitant was the first man he had killed that night. The corpse cooling in the night air.

Xander took a running leap and jumped to the roof next to him. It was the one he had originally started from. Retracing his steps.

He walked over to the supplies he had laid out, noticing that the candle had been extinguished. He carefully packed everything back into his bag. His mask and goggles were stuffed into it and out came the wig. The robes went over his clothes. His submachine gun had to stay underneath his robes. Though he did remember to take out the Glock and place it into the front pocket of the shoulder bag. Just in case.

Xander checked the area and double-checked it. There was nothing there that would incriminate him. Now he just needed to get out clean.

He slung the bag and walked to the stairs leading down. He quickly descended the empty apartment building and exited onto the street. The veil may have gone up, but the power was still down. It was dark, with nobody venturing out there as he had suspected.

Except him. He walked down the street, making sure he took a leisurely pace. He didn't want to look like he was fleeing a crime scene after all.

He turned the corner and walked into a small group of men dressed somewhat similarily to him that passed by him. He tried to stay as far away from them as possible. He made his way down the street towards his vehicle, careful not to look back.

Xander heard one of them turn around. He didn't look, but concentrated on opening the door to his vehicle.

"Stop!" A man shouted in heavily accented English.

Xander slid into his car, using it to cover him taking his Glock handgun out of his bag as he laid the shoulder bag onto the seat next to him. His other hand took out the detonator for the remote. He slowly turned around, noticing the guns already pointed at him.

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Author's Note: I did try to keep Xander from being too good in his abilities. He effectively shot up a bunch of blind people. Not that hard, even for him.

Thanks for the reviews. It's up to 129,304 hits so far.


	62. Chapter Sixty One

**Chapter 61: F.I.S.H. and C.H.I.P.S. **

Xander took a breath and stared at the man that had him dead to rights. He didn't look like a cop. Not even one off duty. Of course, he'd never really seen a Yemeni police officer up close so he couldn't be sure. Hell, the man could have been undercover for all he knew.

He pulled out his keys carefully, making sure he couldn't be easily seen. It was night and the power was still out. The moon and stars lit them for the most part. Inside the car, his hands were nearly invisible. They wouldn't be for much longer the closer the men got. He slid the car key slowly into the ignition, but didn't turn on the engine. He carefully rolled down the window. It didn't make a sound that would draw attention. A blessing in this case.

There were a number of different ways that he could have had his cover blown. From an intentional breach to the other man smelling the gunpowder that scented his clothes. Or maybe even the small amounts of blood that might have gotten on his clothes when he had searched the bodies. It didn't really matter though. All that mattered was that the group of men now all had guns pointed at him. And they didn't look altogether friendly.

He had been able to get out of the house alright, making sure that his weapons were fully loaded as he went. Even the jump between buildings hadn't been all that strenuous in his condition. But, in his current state he wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight in a prolonged battle. He needed to get out of there. As quickly as possible. Preferably without having to resort to violence. A fight on open streets left too many unforeseen variables in the open. He was already at a disadvantage as it was.

Xander counted down in his head; still a bit of time left. He nodded at the lead man behind his car, approaching carefully. There were a few men flanking him. If they were at least halfway competent then he'd stand no chance. He might be able to take out one or two, but given the tight spacing he'd be a goner. Of course, that was only if he did things the easy way. He surreptitiously placed the Glock handgun in his left hand while palming the detonator remote in his right. "Is there something I can do for you, officer?"

The man grinned darkly. He shook his head. He'd been on edge once the power had gone down and had scouted around the block. He had seen the man he had never seen before walk away from the direction of the apartment building that they were using as a base of operations. More than that, he smelled the powder on him. The man may have some kind of disguise on him, but he couldn't hide that. Sloppy. Or the likely attacker on his group of men had had little time. "No such luck."

Xander smiled back, and pressed the button. He didn't have long to wait. The street exploded in sound as the second floor of the apartment building behind them burst into a shower of flame and rubble.

Xander didn't react to the explosion. He had known exactly how long he had after he pressed the button. The moment the brick of SEMTEX exploded he had pulled his gun and put his hand through the open window. Pumping a hollowpoint round into the head of the man that had spoken. He fired a few more times, simultaneously reaching for the car key and starting the car. He pulled his hand back in as soon as they had started to scatter and gunned the engine; putting the car into gear. He raced down the dark street.

He didn't look back, but he did hear the start of engines and cars pulling out. Undoubtedly coming after him. Xander whipped the car around a street corner, stomping the gas to try to get as much distance between them as he could. Not to outrun them. That would be difficult. He didn't know the streets that well, even if he had memorized the maps. And with the mostly legitimate rented car, a sedan of all things, he didn't have the muscle to overtake them in the long run.

Xander glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing the headlights of two SUV type vehicles that were chasing after him. Luckily, it was still extremely dark and there weren't that many other cars on the street. The night and the explosion just minutes prior had probably cleared the path for him.

He took a hand off the wheel and reached into his shoulder bag. He took out a small brick of explosive and then reached in again for a remote detonator. He jammed the small electronic trigger into the clay-like brick and removed the remote.

It came from the same batch as the larger brick he had used in the apartment building. As explicitly requested, it didn't contain any polymer particles to act as identification taggants. There would be no way of tracking down exactly where the explosives had been purchased or stolen from, or who had been behind the attack. At least, there wouldn't be if he didn't get caught. It cost extra, but he was glad that he'd sprung for options package.

Xander ran through the route in his head and took a sharp turn to the left, narrowly cutting off a truck. The road widened. The cars following him audibly swerved around the stopped truck and started to gain on him again as he dropped the brick out the window. He kept an eye on the distance and waited until he had gotten far enough away and they had gotten too close, riding side by side to try to come upon him.

He triggered the remote as he stomped on the brakes, yanking the steering wheel to the side. He screeched to a stop as the explosion caught up with the other cars. The blast hit them hard, sending bits of the cars all around, stopping them dead.

Xander opened the door and got out, shrugging of his robes. He pulled up his submachine and carefully made his way around the rear of the car. The flames lit up the street, making the carnage visible.

One of the cars had been nearly on top of the brick when it went off. It had torn a chunk of the side of the car out and had smashed the bodies inside to pulp. Everyone inside was visibly dead.

Xander made his way closer to the other car. It had been less touched by the explosion. He saw the driver move his hand, and shot twice through the broken glass of the windshield, the body jerking as it took the bullets. The rear doors of the car flung open and three men got out firing blindly as they went.

Xander flung himself to the left, towards the single man that had jumped out of the car on the side opposite him. He rolled, coming up in a kneeling position. His gun was up and as soon as he got a clear shot, he pulled the trigger. Blood spurted out of large wounds as he fell to the ground. Xander bent low and moved forward towards the car as he heard bullets ping off of the street surface.

The man twitched a bit, and Xander shot him twice in the head. He turned, looking for where the other two men had gone. Muzzle flashes gave them away. They had taken cover behind the blown out car that had recently been driven by their comrades. Xander ducked low against the side of the car, making sure that none of his body was visible. He fired a couple of times to keep his enemies back as he pulled a grenade from his belt.

Xander pulled the pin and waited for a few seconds before tossing it into the air. It arced into the air slowly towards the other car. It exploded exactly when he had planned it to. In the air, right between the remaining two men.

The sound of the explosion echoed for a moment down the street. Xander peeked around the corner of the car and tried to find the remaining two combatants. He saw one of them. Part of him at least. He had caught most of the explosion right in the head. Only the torso and lower body were fairly intact. The head had been blasted away. He couldn't see the last one.

Xander pulled back and listened carefully while he ejected his magazine. He didn't hear anybody approaching. Another load of bullets was inserted into the receiver of his submachine gun.

He carefully made his way forward again, trying to keep as low as possible while still maintaining a steady clip. He knelt down behind the front of the car as soon as he could, careful to make sure that nobody was coming to get him from around the back. As he made his way to turn he was hit hard in the stomach by a man coming at him.

Xander landed on his back, losing hold of his gun. The man on top of him tried to punch him in the head, but he managed to get in an arm and deflect the blow. He punched back, his blow glancing off the side of the man's chin.

In the firelight he could see the blood dripping down the side of his opponent's face. He had probably caught a bit of shrapnel kicked up by the explosion. Xander had to struggle to keep the blows from hitting him to hard. He had expended the small amount of energy that he had built up since he had worked his last magical spell. Tiring quickly, Xander tried to grab anything to use as a weapon. The blows that were now raining down on his face and chest were having their effect on him.

His hand scrambled around, managing to grasp the handle of the small dagger that the other man had strapped to his belt. Xander pulled it out with his right hand as he felt another blow hit him on the side of the face. The back of his skull hit had against the concrete road. He managed to turn the weapon towards the probable weapons dealer and pulled back hard, the edge ripping through the man's stomach.

The man on top tried to get up, clutching his stomach. He had kept the jambiya razor sharp, and he had not been wearing body armor. An unfortunate mix. He could feel some intestine slip through his grasping fingers as he fell back.

Xander made the best of the opportunity. He bent down over his would be slayer and pulled the blade of the dagger sharply across the man's throat. He moved back as the blood sprayed, missing the most of it.

His knees gave out and he fell to the ground, coughing. He tried to inhale, but it felt like he could barely get any air into his lungs. It took a few moments before he could stand again. His body ached all the way up though, and it was a struggle to move at all. He couldn't let that stop him though.

Xander glanced around quickly. Sirens were audible in the distance. Headed towards the blasted apartment building most likely. Though some would be heading in his current location soon enough.

Still, there was nobody there at the present moment. Xander reached into a pouch and extracted a card. He bent down of the now still body and placed it onto the corpse's upper chest. The only man alive on the street held it down with one hand to steady it. He turned the dagger sideways and stabbed down. It went in between the ribs, a little blood pushed up from the wound. The playing card was now pinned to the body.

Xander looked around again. The sirens sounded like they might be coming in his directions. From his research and his pouring over of the maps, he knew that the police stations were located on the opposite side of the apartment house from him. It was one of the reasons he had headed in the direction he had. Still, he didn't have much time left.

He stumbled over to pick up the spent magazine and placed it back into a pocket. Xander took a last look around at anything that might be used to determine his identity. There wasn't.

Xander got back to his own car and put on his robes. His ribs ached as he arched his back to slip into them. He straightened his wig and got back in. The engine started and he pulled away, driving quickly away from the burning attack site.

He moved fast, but kept at the speed limit. Xander didn't want to break the law after all.

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The man in the suit jogged more than walked down the busy office space away from the fax machine. He was clutching a couple of sheets of fax paper, while quickly going over them. His contact in Yemen had come through.

Ray Cusack leaned against the desk of the man he had been looking for. It was rather messy, as were the desks of many of the reporters in the busy office, but he didn't dislodge too many files. "Kieran. Take a look at this. It's proof. Proof all along. I was right, baby."

Kieran Volk, another Times reporter, looked up at his friend. He took the page that Ray had been thrusting at him. "And this is what exactly?"

"C'mon, take a look." Ray pointed at the picture. It was a hastily snapped photograph that had been photographed and then faxed over to him. In his younger days he had been a foreign correspondent. He had developed a wide network of contacts in nearly as many countries as he had years. They served him well, even now.

"Okay. It looks like a playing card." Kieran said, not really getting where the other journalist was going with it. At forty five Ray was still rather energetic, and could be incredibly hard to follow. He looked at the picture again. It was grainy, but some details could be made out. "Okay, it's a playing card that's been stuck to some guy's chest with a knife. This is so important how?"

"Take a closer look," Ray said, still pointing at the picture. "What card is it?"

"It's a Jack. Of Spades." Kieran took another look. He looked up at the other reporter that was hovering over him. He got it now. It wasn't a new subject for him.

"Exactly." Ray smiled. "Got that bastard."

"What do you got?" Kieran shook his head. "A playing card? You get any shots of your ghost? You got a playing card. That's it. You're not any closer."

"Guess where this was taken?" Ray asked, clearly excited.

Kieran rolled his eyes. "Where was it taken?"

"Sana'a. Last night," Ray said, in a quieter tone. He nodded. "Last fucking night."

Kieran started to get somewhat excited at the prospect. He'd heard the rumors since the year before. Most of the guys in the newsroom with foreign experience had. It was nearly impossible not to. It was interesting just how hushed up it had seemed to get. Though, it was probably not so much a cover-up as the fact that nobody could ever seem to get a handle on the one-eyed ghost.

He took a softer tone too. He didn't want to get overheard after all. "The attack."

"Yes. The attack." Ray nodded again. He'd heard the same rumors as his colleague and friend had. Except, with his wider range of contacts, he'd been able to pull more truth out of them. It was enough to get his journalistic heart pumping. "So you know there's going to be an investigation. We're finally going to get something on this guy."

Alexandra Sachs looked over the wall of the divider on her desk to the two veteran reporters that were quietly talking to each other across the aisle. While quiet in tone, it was clearly an animated discussion. While not quite nosy by nature, she was by profession. Therefore, she wanted to know what was going on.

Of course, she couldn't just barge in there and ask. She had just been promoted to a full time staffer's position and still didn't know how things worked around the room. Though, given her quick rise, she did know that there would be some understandable resentment around the office. Her family background would contribute to that.

"Take a look." Kieran pointed his chin out towards the young reporter that was watching them.

Ray turned around looked in the indicated direction. The newly promoted reporter was indeed watching them. He turned back around. "What do you think?"

"I think you better not spread it around." Kieran shrugged. Alexandra, who asked to be called Alex, was skilled. If her skill level merited such a fast rise was another matter. And the fact that she had the obvious if unofficial backing of their editor didn't exactly make him favorable to the young reporter. She'd have to prove herself out in the real world sooner or later.

"Too true," Ray concluded. He noticed as their editor walked out her office toward their current location.

She nodded at him, indicating that he should come with her, and then walked down the aisle, headed towards one of the small conference rooms that were located on the floor. Nothing really had to be said, more a statement on her directness than the rapport she had with her underlings.

Ray gathered up his papers and followed her. As he walked towards the conference room he noticed that the news editor nodded towards the young Sachs as well. Inwardly, he groaned. It wasn't that he didn't like the young writer. She didn't have a real proven track record, but the work she had done was certainly within acceptable parameters. Still, if the impromptu meeting was about the plane ticket that he had recently ordered on the company's dime, he didn't exactly want the star of the editor's eye involved. He certainly couldn't bring along some greenhorn along with him to Yemen. It'd be hard enough as it was, given how tight-lipped any official sources would get after the rumors started to fly.

They reached the conference room together and walked inside. Ray took a chair, noticing that Alexandra seemed a bit nervous as she slid into a seat next to him. Mira Kaplan, the department's editor closed the door behind them and turned around. She walked to the head of the long glass table and sat down.

"You mind telling me about the ticket you bought, Ray?" Mira asked. She noticed the papers in the reporter's hand. He had grasped them a bit tighter as she mentioned the plane ticket.

Ray glanced to his left at the younger reporter, and then back to his boss. "It's been approved. Just doing my job, you know."

"And you're going to Yemen to do what exactly?" Mira smiled. A little predatory. Something she had worked on in the mirror, though she would never let anyone know that. She could smell the story that was brewing. The reports from stringers in the field as well as the local news sources had already put out quite a bit on the attack. So far, there had been no official explanation. A gas leak had been suggested. However, other reports had been given. Ones based on unofficial sources linked to the investigation. It was a promising story. One that could make careers. Such as the one of a certain young up and coming reporter. That she was the niece of someone on the board of directors was icing on the cake.

"Follow up on the story." Ray shrugged, keeping it as vague as possible. It wouldn't work for long. Mira was one smart lady. Ambitious as hell, but very smart. Still, he could make sure she had to work for it.

"Which story?" Mira said, playing along for the moment. She glanced at Alexandra, noticing that she looked a bit lost. But, rather smartly, the young reporter said nothing, intent on just following along for the time being.

"I think you know which one." Ray returned her smile.

"And the reason you had to book an urgent flight to Sana'a?" Mira cocked an eyebrow. "Simply for a reported gas leak?"

"That, and the explosion in the streets a dozen or so blocks away," Ray stated. He started to rise from his seat. "Anyway, I have to get home and pack, so if you'll excuse me…"

"Not so fast." The news editor interrupted. She watched with some satisfaction as Ray slumped back down in his chair. It wasn't that he wasn't a stellar journalist, his years in the service and aggressive manner had served him, and the Times well. Of course, he had the tendency to act on his own. Independently. And though it had been overlooked during the reign of her predecessor, she would not let the habit continue. Such liberties would wreak havoc on the efficiency of the newsroom. "What makes this so urgent?"

"I think you know." Ray frowned. It was becoming quite clear that he wouldn't be allowed to go on his own.

"Why don't you enlighten us?" Mira nodded, indicating the papers in the veteran reporter's hand.

Ray hesitated, and then glanced at Alex. It was quite clear that she had no real clue what was going on. Just that two more important people were having some kind of contest of wills. Too bad he was losing. "There's been a Jack sighting."

"Who?" Alex asked. She tried to keep the confused expression off of her face.

Mira bent forward. "Who indeed. Perhaps you best explain, Ray."

Ray looked at the two women. "One-Eyed Jack. I'm sure you've heard the tales. Anyways, I got confirmation that he is likely in the vicinity, or was recently there. I'm hoping to pick up his trail."

"One-Eyed Jack?" Alex echoed.

"Yes, One-Eyed Jack." Ray confirmed. He noticed the look on Mira's face. That he should keep going. "Anyway, he popped up a little more than a year or so ago. In Africa. Terrorist attacks. Blown up drug convoys. Car bombs. Assassinations. All with a calling card left behind. The Jack of Spades. It started branching out after that. An explosion in the Vatican. Kidnapping and the murder of a rather important official in the mayor's office in Baltimore. A gang attack in Mexico. The list goes on."

"And this was all done by one man?" Alex asked, somewhat skeptically.

Ray shrugged. "That's what they say."

He smoothed out the paper he had and slid it to Alex. He hadn't really needed it for confirmation; he'd already purchased a ticket earlier in the day. It was just a nice little bonus to look at it in the meantime.

She looked at it. What little could be made out showed a playing card that had been pinned to a man's chest. She gulped. "Who is he?"

"Nobody really knows." Ray knew who she was asking about. "Some people say he's American. Some say he's British. Others say he's South African. Or even an Australian ex-pat that settled down in Africa. All that they know is that he's white. At least most of the time. And he has an eyepatch over his left eye. Most of the time. The reports don't all match. A real master of disguise this guy is, apparently. Chameleon."

"And he could do all this?" Alex asked. She was still skeptical of the situation. It was likely exaggerated. The notion that there was someone out there that could cause so much death and destruction and not get caught was rather inconceivable. "One man?"

"It's said that he's got training. Probably used to be in the military. I've heard Rangers, SAS, SBS, GSG9. Hell, even the Foreign Legion has been tossed around." Ray shrugged. "It could all be crap, but who knows."

"So what's his name?" Alex asked without thinking.

Ray suppressed a chuckle. She was rather green, and prone to speaking without thinking. Still, he had had the same problem in his youth. Still did at times, come to think of it. "He's got a ton of aliases. Ulrich Lindner. Frank Mercer. Alexander Harris. Oliver Blair. Never uses the same one more than once though. Neil Fastow. Diego Rivera. Hans Gruber."

"Hans Gruber?" Alex asked, incredulously.

Ray smiled. "That's what they say. Evidently, Jack's got something of a sense of humor. I got wind of a passport a while back that he used with the name David Webb on it. An invoice for a car rental in Minsk had the name Jason Bourne."

"Aren't those a little obvious?" Alex asked, recognizing the references. The movie had come out two years ago after all. The sequel, just that summer. At least it was an intelligent question this time.

"I think that may be the point," Ray responded. "Anyway, if he was in Yemen, then I may be able to get a lead on him. I still got contacts there. It's the closest I've ever gotten to him."

"Hmm. I suppose it is a good story to go after." Mira broke in. "You can take Ms. Sachs with you when you go. I've already purchased a ticket."

Ray clenched his jaw. He had a snappy comeback, but he stomached it. It wouldn't do to get kicked off the story when he was this close. He only hoped that the younger reporter wouldn't prove too much of a handicap. Or get them both killed. "I suppose. If she can pull her own weight."

"I assure you. She will." Mira looked towards Alex. The expression was clear. While she may have been given the opportunity, she had to do the work herself. Her elevated background would only serve her so far. She'd be expected to produce if she wanted to stay a full time staff member at the Times. "You both can go now."

Ray took back his paper and got up. He exited without another word. Alex followed after him after saying her thanks. He felt the urge to just leave the building and go home to prepare, but decided not to. He waited in the hallway until the young Alex caught up.

"I wanted to thank-" Alex started to say as the veteran reporter started to walk away. She hurried after him.

"Don't bother," Ray said, heading back to the newsroom. "I suggest you get ready though."

He stopped. Then turned around and faced the younger reporter.

"Look, this is serious. This isn't some college newspaper on some student telling test answers." Ray looked her up and down. Sizing her up. He was actually somewhat worried about her.

"I know. I haven't been in college-" Alex tried to defend herself.

"No, you really don't. This man is dangerous. He is a murderer and from all accounts a certifiable psychopath. Add in the fact that he's apparently been well-trained only makes him more dangerous. This is a career-making story for you. And a fucking Pulitzer for me. " Ray interrupted. He pointed at her, the paper in his hand crinkling. "Don't fuck this up."

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"Everything's clear. There's been no evidence left behind that they're going to be able to identify at first blush. I figure you can take care of the rest. And the spell I worked altered the residual energy," Xander said into his phone. He checked his watch. He only had a few more minutes of confirmed security. Also, Vi was supposed to get home pretty soon. He didn't want to stay on for too much longer.

"No evidence. I think the card you left behind constitutes some pretty strong goddamn evidence," Barnes growled into his phone. "I wanted you to be invisible."

"No. You wanted me to make sure this wouldn't point back to you. Or the United States." Xander contradicted. "It doesn't."

"Your boss is going to know that you were in Yemen," Barnes replied.

"Yup. Of course, as far as he is aware the reason why I requested the trip to Yemen, on my own time of course, was due to personal favors that I owed as One-Eyed Jack. It was expected anyways," Xander explained. "That's why I was there early. Walking around with my eyepatch. And then putting a hit out on a local demon warlord. The building was related. Rumored now to have been used by said demon as a safe house. And, I used a China Airlines card. Relax. I actually know what I'm doing, remember? It's why you came to me."

"Alright. Alright." Barnes calmed down. It was the truth. Xander did know what he was doing. When it came down to it, while his actual individual skills might not be the best compared to some, as a package he was more than match for any situation. If one needed a one-man wrecking crew, there was none better. Of course, it usually wasn't that subtle. Which was unfortunate. But, acceptable given the alternative. "And if Giles and the Council lets word get around of your real identity?"

"Not a problem. I already thought of that before. Back when I first came out of the closet." Xander wasn't worried about it. It had been one of the most obvious problems that he had faced when he'd first came out to people that couldn't exactly be trusted. He'd taken some time on the issue.

His real name had been leaked along with a number of false identities that he had used. Along with the identities of some actual people that he pretended to be. The alteration of the remaining government databases that housed information of his identity, barring necessary ones, meant that even if somebody hacked them to see if he really looked like what One-Eyed Jack was rumored to look like, would just go down the wrong trail. A few magic spells making him appear in multiple places at once also helped refute him being who he was. At this point, there was so much disinformation about him, some of it personally planted, that anybody claiming to know the identity of the mysterious demon hunter would get laughed at. Hell, he'd hired people to try to find out. None ever succeeded. None had even gotten close.

"Even if Giles came out, nobody would believe him. And, the others have made it quite clear what would happen if he tried it anyway. Even if he decided to take me out, the others aren't going to let that wash. It's done. Forget about it." Xander continued. He had expected the question sooner or later. From someone. "Any more criticisms?"

"And the warhead's destroyed?" Barnes asked, continuing on to the important parts of the mission.

"Like I said, once I scouted it, it would have been impossible to recover," Xander said. That was the truth. Of course, it wouldn't have been if he had been allowed to bring a team in. Though that was irrelevant now. He'd pulled it off successfully, and without really getting hurt either. His body still ached. But, at least he could walk around without appearing stiff. A benefit of his fast healing. "The damn thing's heavy as hell. I blew it up. There aren't going to be any parts to identify what was there."

"A shame. A real shame." Barnes said, more to himself than to the other man.

"Someone noticed me there. I figure he smelled the gunpowder, maybe blood, on me. Hell, it was a less than popular neighborhood, it could have been a lucky shot. But, he could have made me. You sure you kept OPSEC?" Xander asked. He'd mentally gone through the whole operation. Trying to find anything important that could be of use. There was one obvious aspect of the mission that stuck out in his mind. His almost death.

"No doubt. If you were made, it wasn't on my side," Barnes replied. "Everything was clear. I've got feelers out already. No word about you. Any of you."

"Okay." Xander accepted the statement. Barnes wouldn't lie to him. Not on that. Not if he expected to live. Sometimes, there just were loose ends. Ones that never got clipped.

"Good." Barnes was glad. It was the truth. And probably the only thing that kept the one-eyed man from coming after him next. "For what's it's worth, you did good work. Thanks."

"It's what I do." Xander smiled to himself. "We're even now."

"Yes. Yes, we are." Barnes answered the statement. "Still, keep your line on. Just in case I ever have need of you."

"And I you." Xander heard the front door open and close. Vi was most likely home from her afternoon classes. He ducked his head out into the hallway and watched as his girlfriend walked into the main room, putting her bag onto the couch. "I got to go. For what's it worth, this was important. And I'm glad that, well, I'm glad that everything worked out as it should. I'll probably talk to you later, bye."

Xander hung up the phone after Barnes had said his farewells. He shoved it into his pocket, the cell phone automatically blanking his last call. He walked into family room.

"How'd it go?" Vi walked to him and embraced him, kissing him quickly on the lips. She didn't press for any details. No need to ask for something that he wouldn't tell her. Not that she would be angry that he wouldn't tell her anything. It was his job, and she respected that.

Xander kissed her again. He pulled back, content to just hold her. "Just the same old thing. Nothing to get excited about. 'Nother day at the office."

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The man keyed in the security code for the storage unit. He opened the door and walked inside. Flipping on the light, the man pulled out the counter from his bag. He couldn't be sure that things went through okay, so he had to be sure that everything was intact.

He waved the Geiger counter over the device. It came up clean. No leakage. The man unzipped his hood and pulled off his mask.

Xander set the counter back into his bag and examined the detonator. He removed it and placed that into his bag. He pulled out his own triggering device and bolted it on. It was custom made, with a five-digit security code. Only he could activate the nuclear warhead at this point. He bent down and wiped off the chalk circle that had been around the warhead.

It had taken quite a bit of effort to find the right spell. Even with the right setup he couldn't have worked a true teleportation spell. It required real power. It required a real wizard. Still, that didn't mean there weren't alternatives. Such as an exchange. A mockup of the warhead based on the schematics he had been given was created. It was in tune with the real one. A magic circle around the voodoo doll-esque fake. And then one on-site with the real. A conversion to simply switch the two positions.

A mix of mojo and science. A melding of the mystical and Superstring theory. An exchange of the "same." Same mass. Same identity. Everything was kept in balance. Equilibrium. Well, as much as possible with a fake. And it still required power to operate. Less power than actual teleportation, but it was still necessary. It had to come from somewhere. Luckily, he had just enough in him to do that.

Xander made sure that the bomb was cleaned up, and then pulled a small bottle of red powder from his shoulder bag. He opened it up and poured it over the warhead. He whispered, "abscondo."

He replaced the now empty bottle back into his bag. A wooden cover went on the box containing the warhead. He stepped to the door.

A last look around the storage unit, and Xander shut the light off just as the box shimmered out of view. It would only reveal itself to him, or to an extremely powerful wizard that could break the concealment spell. The changes of that were pretty unlikely with the extra protection that he had paid for. There were other things in that room that he didn't want anybody to find.

He shifted his bag to a more comfortable position and keyed the security pad to lock down the storage unit.

Xander walked down the hall, headed towards home.


	63. Chapter Sixty Two

**Chapter 62: You Can't Go Home Again...But, You Can Shop There.**

"It checks out. Good work. The money's been wired. Yes, the account in Zurich. Yeah, it'll go through in about twelve hours." Xander said into the cell phone. He glanced around outside, there wasn't anybody around to wonder what he was talking about. At least no one human. For that reason, he kept it brief. And as anonymous as he could. Without the ancient protection runes he now commonly used, he could be overheard through all sorts of mystical means. "Doc, forget this ever happened."

Xander closed up the phone and put in his pocket. He got out of his car and walked towards the door, making certain to appear confident. He even had a smiled on his face. It had been quite a while, weeks even, since he had been back to the House. Before Giles had had someone try to hack his brain. Before, they'd tried to get him arrested. Before a lot of things actually.

It was interesting though. They'd never gotten around to changing the gate code. Or the key to the front door. Although given his relationship with a number of the slayers it wouldn't have been particularly difficult to get the new ones. Could have been the reason for it. Still, it spoke of something. Whether it was hope or lack of foresight was the question.

Didn't explain the lack of security though. Any penetration should have been picked up and the subject identified. Though he guessed that with the sheer number of people, and the technical expertise needed to run the system that would be necessary, they probably just used some magical spell to make sure there weren't any intruders. Less than intelligent ones that would likely allow anybody with the passwords and keys. It was interesting that while the high tech would have solved many problems, so would the lowest of the low tech. He couldn't be too disappointed, it let him get in unaccosted after all.

As he walked into the house, he made sure to keep his shoulder bag on. With things the way they were, he didn't want to let anything out of his sight. There were still those loyal to Giles and his cohorts after all. Though they were getting fewer in number. Of course the sheer number of slayers these days made that still a force to be reckoned with.

Though it was the afternoon, he didn't see any stray slayers around. Probably taking classes or practicing somewhere. He headed toward the basement where he had planned to meet Faith, but stopped when he saw Dawn in the kitchen.

Xander was momentarily taken aback. It had been quite a while since he had seen or even talked to the young woman that he viewed as a younger sister. A lot of things would have happened between them too. Mostly involving her sister. Things that she wouldn't necessarily know about.

Still, it was a bit puzzling to him. It was nearing autumn and Dawn was still there. With Rudy gone he didn't have an exact play by play, but still, he would have thought that Dawn would have headed back to school. Actually college, at this point. Though maybe that started late. He wasn't really sure, having never gone himself.

He didn't hear anybody else around, so Xander walked towards the kitchen. The other things could wait for a few minutes.

"How are things?" Xander remarked, as he walked over to the refrigerator. He looked inside, noticing a distinct lack of anything with alcohol. He inwardly smiled at that, while scanning the shelves. And evidently the slayers leaned toward the diet end of the soda rainbow. Not that that was particularly necessary given their metabolisms. He pulled out a bottle of juice.

Dawn visibly started from her sandwich from the sound of Xander's voice. He twisted off the cap of his juice and looked at it. He tossed it against the wall and into the recycling bin that was near the rear door of the kitchen. "Sorry."

"Xander." Dawn turned in her seat to look at him. She wasn't particularly sure how she should feel at the moment. Giles and Buffy hadn't been particularly favorable about him in recent days. But, she remembered the last real conversation she had had with him. When he had treated her as an equal. "Buffy and Giles are pissed at you."

Xander chuckled to himself. Though a young woman she may have developed into, it was still an amusing sight to see her swear. "I reckon so. You pissed at me too?"

"Should I be?" Dawn crossed her arms in front of her as she stood up from her stool at the counter. "I hear that Vi beat up Buffy. Over the Immortal. And you."

Xander shrugged. "Not exactly. But, it was something like that."

"Was he evil?" Dawn asked. At first she had been angry. Whatever may have happened, Buffy was her sister. And they had grown closer back in Rome to be fair, even with the Immortal there. Not as close as she had hoped. Still, far closer than during the last days of Sunnydale. Once Spike had come back.

"Well, it depends on what you define as evil," Xander contemplated aloud. He didn't need to wonder about the pronoun use.

Dawn frowned, close to a pout, but without the girlish cuteness or womanly sexiness of it. She had a little way to go till she could achieve that. "Xander."

"Okay. You would have considered him evil," Xander said at last, "he got what he deserved. For the things he's done. I don't suppose Buffy told you about that?"

Dawn shook her head. "Then she deserved it."

"Hey now, Dawnie, she's still your big sister. Family's important." Xander raised his hands in front of him. "Violence, while certainly an efficient means of solving problems, isn't usually what one should go into a situation as the best solution. Well, unless it's war, then violence of action is the standard posture."

Dawn rolled her eyes a little. It was still rather odd to see Xander act like that. Different from his usual fun-loving self. It was like a dark cloud hung over him. But, there was still some of that light that peeked out, sneaked out when he didn't notice. "I bet you liked it that your girlfriend could beat her up."

Xander grinned goofily for a second. "Okay, maybe just a little."

Dawn returned the smile.

He took a drink of his juice. Apple. Simple. He'd had had juice, and stronger, on more continents than he had years almost. From fig to star fruit. It was refreshing, just as being home was. "Shouldn't you be in college or something? I mean I know you took your SATs and stuff. Or does it start later?"

The young woman shook her head. "I'm not going."

Xander stopped, with his bottle halfway to his lips. "Really? You like school, God knows why. Any particular reason? I can't imagine it was 'cause you were dumb like I was. Or poor."

"Xander, you weren't dumb," Dawn chided him softly. "I do like school, but I don't think it's right for me anymore. And I decided that I wanted to join up. Fight the good fight. Like you and Buffy."

"I'm hoping not like me or Buffy," Xander muttered under his breath. He took a sip, drawing it out to give him a moment to think. "I'm hardly the best one to tell you of the virtues of a college education, but shouldn't you at least give it a chance?"

"I thought about it." Dawn relaxed and took a bite of her sandwich. It was certainly a different reaction than the one she had been expecting. She still hadn't told Buffy nor Giles about it. She had expected Xander to be just as angry as she imagined that they would be. Though perhaps less vocal about it. That was something of an overstatement. "I mean, Buffy and Willow dropped out. And you never went. Only Giles and Robin graduated from college."

"True. Still, I am pushing Vi, and a number of the other girls to get some education," Xander rebutted. "It's important. But, what's the real reason you're doing it?"

Dawn sighed. "I guess I just wanted to get out there in the real world. I don't think I could stand four more years of schooling."

"I hear it isn't too bad though. With the keggers and all. You're good with languages right? You're pretty good with Sumerian and Turkish right?" Xander replied. "There's got to be something that can be done with that. Like archeology or something. You could be the real Lara Croft. Just, you know better looking."

Dawn giggled. "I know, I just, don't think it's the right path for me. I mean, you've done pretty good for yourself without going to college."

"I suppose." Xander couldn't exactly deny it. The clothes he had taken to wearing out in the civilian world and the vehicles he had access to didn't exactly convey the image of someone with a less than steady income. Even back in Sunnydale, when he had managed to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Still, it had come with its own share of headaches. And costs. "I'm not going to tell you not to do it, but I am going to ask you to make sure that you're damn sure this is what you want to do before you do it."

"Okay." Dawn nodded. She was pleasantly surprised at his reaction. It was also surprising how much she wanted his acceptance regarding her decision.

"You decide what you're going to do exactly? I mean, you got the books and stuff, but I don't remember you doing the whole witch thing. At least, not all the way. So watcher? Or all around research gal?" Xander thought about what would happen if Dawn did become a watcher. She wouldn't be too bad, though it would partly depend on who trained her. With her being so close to Giles, it could get sticky.

"I was thinking research. For starters," Dawn said, "I'm pretty good with the languages, and there's always a need in the library."

There was a large library near the vault buried deep underneath the estate. It had been magically created, so there wasn't a need for a construction crew to build it. And it had taken an extremely short amount of time to do it. Of course, that meant no union labor, which wouldn't have made them very happy if they had heard about it. Magic be damned.

It was also why so many could be housed in the House. A mansion it may be, but to get adequate housing for so many young women, it had required magic. Real magic. Some type of magical dislocation and stretching. Like the TARDIS with more room on the inside than would it appear given the outside. It was a wonder what their utility bills must have rung up to.

Xander frowned for a moment. Andrew was trying to get in good again with the Council. His method of doing so was with the one area that he actually was somewhat decent in. Research.

He kicked himself for not coming back sooner. Not so much to keep a closer eye, but to make sure that the sometimes emotional young woman didn't do anything foolish. "I don't suppose Andrew had anything to do with that decision."

Dawn grimaced and shook her head. "No. You were right about him. I can't believe I ever had a thing for him. And Spike. No, I'm over that whole bad boy thing. If you can even consider him that."

Xander smiled. "Hey, you had a crush on me too remember. You couldn't have had such bad taste in men."

Dawn smiled back, flirtatiously. "Is that an invitation?"

Xander stopped for a moment, mouth open. He'd been hit on before. He didn't get to where he was without it happening. A badass attitude and his reputation did have its charismatic pull on the opposite sex. Although, they didn't take the form of a girl he remembered going through puberty. "Ah, no. I learned that lesson already. Vi'd kick my ass. Tempting, very tempting, but no. I'm sure there's guys a lot closer to your age that are much more interesting and cuter than I am, though sexy beast I still am."

Dawn pouted, reaching that point where it was on the good side of sinful. "Not really."

"Them's the breaks." Xander smiled, noticing some amount of Faith in there. She was certainly growing up to be a remarkable young woman. Quite the heartbreaker.

"She's tamed you real good." Dawn turned off the attitude. "So what are you here for? That army of slayers that's been building?"

Xander blanked his face. It wasn't unexpected in the least. "I guess something like that wouldn't exactly be easy to keep secret."

"Well, they were practicing a lot more. And in larger groups." Dawn said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out."

"So, you think Buffy figured it out then?" Xander asked.

Dawn grinned. "Like I said, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out."

"So, you think Buffy figured it out then?" Xander asked.

Dawn laughed aloud. "Willow told her."

"Yeah, well something's come up." Xander shrugged, wondering how much he should tell her. She was Dawn. But, she was also Buffy's sister. And official Council member to be.

"What is it?" Dawn appeared quite eager. Wanting to get into things.

Xander hesitated. "Dawnie, this is the real show. You go in now, and everything changes. This isn't exactly something I'd want for you."

"You brought Faith in. And Robin," Dawn argued. "Vi."

"Out of necessity. Rather than a real desire to bring them in. I'd much rather they stay out of these things," Xander explained. "Look, you have a chance here. The Council, such as it is, isn't too bad. And it's not going to go away anytime soon, that's the plan anyway. Just stick with this. It'll be enough for you."

"Xander, if it's serious. Then I want to help. They're my family too." Dawn had a serious look on her face. It brooked no contradiction. "Can you really afford to turn me down."

He wanted to. But, she did have a point. Back in Sunnydale she had been getting pretty good at running with them. More than a year later, she'd be a lot better. Even with her time at school and hanging out in Rome. "This is the rabbit hole. Once you go down it, there ain't no turning back. It's a way one street. Through the bad area of town."

"I'm ready," Dawn stated.

Xander stepped in closer, into her personal comfort zone. He leaned down and looked her in the eye. "Are you? Are you really? Don't just tell me this because you want to get out there. To do something to get you noticed among all the rest of the women here. Get you noticed by Buffy. You do this, it better be because you want to. Don't do this for anybody else. Because you'll just end up hating them, and yourself."

Xander leaned back. Everyone had to do it for their own reasons. For her, it'd have to be something she wanted to do. He, on the other hand, had did it for the exact opposite reason. He hadn't done it because he wanted to. He did it for everyone else. For somebody else.

Dawn looked back calmly. There was no wavering in her stance. "I know. And I want to do this."

"There's supposed to be a class down there with Faith." Xander said, satisfied by the response. He still didn't like it, but it was her choice. And, he wouldn't be who he was if he didn't support her, while also making plans to make sure that she'd be prepared for whatever she chose to do with her life. Though, he'd also be prepared himself. "I'm supposed to meet up with her there. Go over the last parts of it. Before we do our thing. Come on then."

Xander drained the last of his juice and tossed the empty plastic bottle into the recycling bin. He headed towards the door.

"Buffy's down there." Dawn said as she brushed off her hands. Her sandwich lay half-eaten on the marble countertop.

Xander turned around and looked at her. It didn't change much. At least he hoped it wouldn't. It hadn't been that long since he'd gotten back from Yemen. His body was still a little sore. He didn't want to have to throw down now. He needed to be at his best when they got to Alaska. "That's just prime."

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Alex tried to keep herself from fidgeting in her seat. She stared at her iced tea, wondering if she should do anything. She glanced at the man next to her, but the veteran reporter was ignoring her. Probably not by intention.

"And this is all you have?" Ray glanced through the papers. The initial reports of the attack. There was depressingly little there. The pictures were telling. Of course, that was all he could understand.

"Yes." Ray's contact said. He moved closer. They weren't in public, but he shouldn't exactly be revealing what he was. Of course, given his debts, he'd had to do it. "You forget where you are. Even after a couple of days, there isn't much known."

"So what's it say?" Ray put the papers down and slid them back. He glanced over at his partner. She wasn't doing badly, mainly staying out of the way. And it did seem like she was learning something. If only how to be unobtrusive.

"We found the remains of approximately twenty to twenty five men," The Yemeni police officer said. "A group of them were nearly at the center of the explosion. We only have parts. We're still trying to identify all the remains. It's proving quite difficult. Evidently, he used quite a large amount of explosives."

"What kind of explosive?" Ray asked.

"SEMTEX A. Our lab technicians have aged it to a little less than twenty years. There were no taggants. And there wasn't enough of the detonator to get any clue as to where it was from. It's a dead-end." Abdul frowned, and checked the report he had sneaked out of the police station. "There was only one weapon fired in the building as far as we can determine. 9mm Makarov rounds based on the shells. We didn't find a weapon."

"Another dead-end?" Ray remarked. He didn't like what he was hearing. The closest he had ever gotten, and nothing. No traces. Of course, that really wasn't that unexpected.

"One weapon?" Alex spoke up, for the first time during the meeting.

Abdul glanced at the young woman. He nodded. "Yes. The imprints on the shells match that of one firearm only. If there was anybody else with this man, then they did not fire any guns themselves."

Ray thought about what else could possibly be helpful. He hadn't really done the crime beat, but he had picked some stuff up over the years. "Rifling? On the bullets?"

"No. He used soft rounds. They were all deformed by impact." Abdul shook his head again. It was a perplexing case. So much was left behind. Dead bodies. Rubble in the streets. A calling card. And yet all of that physical evidence was completely and utterly useless. "And, like I said, we didn't find the weapon."

Alex took a sip of her tea. It was all so overwhelming. Like something read about in books. Or seen in the movies.

"Okay. The car chase." Ray checked his watch. He still had other meetings. So, he moved on to the next step. "Anything there?"

"No," Abdul stated. "Again, nothing there. A pistol used about a block away from shell casings. His getaway most likely. A number of weapons could have been used, so identifying what it was will be difficult. The remains of two cars were found. Another explosion. SEMTEX. No detonator could be found. More shell casings found. This time the others fought back. AK47s were found. Along with a variety of other weapons. We're investigating that."

"How many dead?" Ray asked.

"Seven." Abdul counted off in his head. "Three of them were killed in the explosion. Two of them killed by gunfire. One by a grenade. And one by a knife through the gut. Followed by having his throat slit. And a nice gift stuck to his chest."

Alex gulped. "What airline was it from?"

"What?" Abdul turned to the woman.

"The card? What airline was it from?" Alex repeated. She found the whole thing positively morbid. Signatures. Calling cards. It was very serial killer. "It could be a clue."

Ray grinned. "Well, Abdul. Spit it out."

"China Airlines. Do you really think that your man used a card from a deck that he got on his way here?" Abdul looked skeptical at how useful it would be. "Or that he has a number of them available?"

"Still, it's worth following up on." Ray shrugged. He didn't want to get the young reporter down on her first big story.

"Who were they?" Alex asked, getting into things.

"Excuse me?" Abdul questioned.

The young reporter pressed further. "The victims, who were they?"

"We identified only a handful so far." Abdul looked through his notes. "A few had been in prison. Weapons dealers for the most part. Though some of them were under investigation for terrorist links."

"Any idea what the purpose of the hit was?" Ray was memorizing everything that his source was telling him. That was part of the deal. No notes, on his part. No identification. Nothing that would get him found out and fired. Or worse.

"We found evidence of weapons. Heavy weapons. Most likely your man had been hired to take them out, and destroy any merchandise." Abdul shrugged. That was just another of the elements that was under investigation. "Then again, it could all be a cover to take out one man. Who can tell, with your, mysterious mercenary."

"You got that right." Ray grumbled.

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"What's the first rule of slaying?" Buffy asked to the class. She didn't know it, but the gathering was only half filled with the less than trained. It had been planned as a hands-on practice session, allowing the younger slayers to be able to train one on one with some of the more advanced slayers. That she treated them as if they were right off the streets annoyed them all. It wasn't her fault exactly. They were mostly unrecognizable to the older slayer. To her, that meant they were new. Too bad she didn't take that to mean just new to her.

"Uh, don't talk about Fight Club?" Colleen raised her hand as she spoke for the class to hear. She suppressed a smirk. It was Xander's influence no doubt.

Rowena leaned over, speaking in a loud whisper overheard by all, "No, that's the second rule."

"Don't die." Xander walked won the stairs. He watched the eyes on him. A mixture of emotions on their faces. "I heard the same speech you gave the other slayers before. Though I prefer Sam's don't walk into a place you don't know how to walk out of. Or even Steinbeck's telling that the purpose of fighting is to win. I suppose he just left out the part of it being by any means necessary."

He walked into the center of the basement, past Buffy and made his way to the back of the room, where Faith was standing in the back. He turned around to face the class. They were still watching him, to Buffy's obvious annoyance. "Still, don't die is pretty good as a saying. You might want to make sure the fucker coming at you is going instead though. I figure it's not just about not dying, but about making sure that you're the last, woman, standing. Course, that's all words anyways. It's application that's usually the more important. Miss me?"

Buffy didn't react. The audience was obvious. She couldn't exactly make a move when so many seemed to react favorably to his presence. It was rather disheartening to see Dawn walk with him.

"So, class, the word's come down from the top. We move soon. It's for real this time. All the practice, it's about to come down to it." Xander paused, looking at the slayers before him. "And by we, I mean the ones of you that know what I'm talking about."

He glanced up to Buffy, seeing the growing anger in her eyes. "And, who don't want to do me bodily harm. Class done, Faith?"

Faith shrugged. "Just about."

"You guys might want to clear out," Xander told the class. He looked towards Buffy again. "I'm sure your illustrious leader has some unkind words for me."

Xander waited until the class had left. He wasn't sure if he was comforted by the fact that Faith and Dawn stayed behind.

He walked forward onto the mats that were laid out in the center of the basement. "So, I'm sure you've got something to say to me."

"Is there anything that I could say that you'd listen to?" Buffy crossed her arms over her chest.

Xander shrugged. "Probably not. But, I thought you might want to have the opportunity to vent. You know, before I flip the Council on its head again. Or before word gets back to Giles about me being here and decides to confront me for himself."

Buffy just glared at him.

"This the part where you accuse me of ruining the Council? Or doing this for any sort of emotional motivation at all. Anger. Jealousy. Rage." Xander said, flippantly. "I'm sure there's a million things you could accuse me of. A desire to be the baddest motherfucker around, maybe."

"I think you know what I think," Buffy replied. There was so much that she wanted to say, but it probably wouldn't do any good.

"Yup. Course, I'm not going to listen." Xander smiled. "Anyway, the main issue is that it's about Faith here. She's in charge. You're not. Get used to it. It's not going to change. I mean, sure you could try to fight some civil war in here. But, honestly, I can't imagine that even you find that desirable. So I'll give you a pass. Don't interfere with her, don't interfere with the Slayer, and I don't have to do any of the supremely nasty things that I could. Remember, I know where all the skeletons lie."

"I know about you too remember?" Buffy glared at him. "How you cheated on Cordelia. Would they be so quick to trust you if they knew that?"

"They already know that, Buffy." Xander shook his head. "And really, that's not exactly impressive. I'd have gone with lying about Angel, but given their feelings towards vampires and, you know, a safe world, I'd say it wouldn't really matter for most of them. There's Anya, who I didn't walk out on so much as wanting to take it slow, but they know about that too, I believe. You know, it's funny, at the end of the day, what's there you can really hang over my head that they don't know about? Anything that would make me somehow look worse than I already appear?"

"What then, you want me to simply hand over the slayers to her?" Buffy pointed at Faith. "A murderer."

"I wouldn't cast stones, Buff." Xander walked forward. "Sure, she's done all sorts of stuff. Pretty bad. At least she faced it. And paid for it. And she got herself a pardon. So in the eyes of the law, she's clean. You on the other hand, well, let's just say that the right word in the right ear would wreak all sorts of havoc with whatever you had planned. I'm sure some authorities would have obvious questions to someone that was sighted with the Immortal. Extradition. It could apply. I wouldn't want to go that far, but, just so's you know where these things go. So, I'm sure that while you didn't get to say whatever you were feeling, it's over now. I'm walking up that door. And I'm seeing the rest of the slayers that are outside on the lawn practicing."

"You think I'm just going to let you walk out that door?" Buffy moved to the stairway to the upper levels. It was pretty much the only confrontation she had left to try.

"I was hoping." Xander shrugged. He noticed that Faith and Dawn didn't say anything. They let him do the talking. Probably to give him a chance to clear the air. "I mean, we got history. And, if you want to get right down to it, I'm doing the right thing. As far as I can reckon. Of course, so are you. The only difference is that, I'm doing it the right way. So, if you'll just stand aside, then I'll be going."

"I don't think so." Buffy was firm. "You got to Riley. You got to a hell of a lot of the slayers. But, you didn't get to me. Or Giles. You're not going to win."

"Buff, didn't you listen before?" Xander sighed. "I never walk into a room I can't walk out off. Easy way or not, I'm going upstairs. Trust me, you don't want to do this the hard way."

"You can't stop me," Buffy stated. "You said so yourself. You can't beat me in a fight."

"No. He can't." Faith walked forward. "But, I can."

"Buffy, this is Xander." Dawn pleaded with her sister. She didn't know if her sister could take Faith. She had before. But, that was years ago. And, at this point, given all the training, she didn't want to test it. "Let him go."

"Dawn, you don't get it." Buffy looked towards her sister. "What he's doing, it's wrong. It's evil. We can't let him do this."

"The big fight's coming. And as much as I love you, I can't keep spending time on this." Xander looked towards Faith, he could see the set expression on her face. If she was ever to fully be her own Slayer, she needed this. "Now, you can try to stop me, but then that leaves you open for my friend over there. So, face me or you can face down the Slayer. You can't do both. That's what it comes down to. I promise, I'll wait for you at the top of the stairs."

Xander waited until Buffy reluctantly stepped aside. He walked up the stairs to the hallway and stopped. He was a man of his word after all. Most of the time. He heard the traded blows, but he didn't look back.

It was only a few minutes before the Slayer walked up the stairs. It looked like she had taken a number of strikes.

"How're things?" Xander asked.

"Five by five," Faith replied. "Dawn's going to be a minute."

"I kinda figured that." Xander started down the hall, Faith on his heels. "Let's go."

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Xander looked at the assembled girls around him. They were segregated by team. He recognized a few of the identifying marks. He was glad that it wasn't the eighties. He really didn't want to see the coordinated outfits that would have resulted from that. He glanced over the papers that Vi had given him.

"Okay." Xander said aloud. "This looks good. The buses, comfy ones, are going to be here in five days. They'll take you to an unofficial stop, where you'll be taking less comfortable airplanes to your final destination. That, will stay with me for the moment. Though the training you've been given might give you some idea of where it might be. Or at least the climate. Standard secrecy applies. Nobody talks. And anybody that wants out, is free to walk away right now. If not, I expect your loyalty. Complete. Undivided. The Council, comes third. After the one next to ya. And me."

The slayers seemed to shine brighter at that. With none moving an inch.

Xander didn't show it, but he was very proud of them. "Okay then. You have your section commanders. And other support personnel. Fill them in on the instructions, and we'll see about what to do about your missed rotations and other trips. The increased training schedule should be enough to provide personnel to take over for the time being. "

He flipped the page, hearing the people approaching from the House. He didn't have to look around to know who they were. The usual suspects.

"That's it I guess." Xander closed his notepad. "If there's nothing else, you can go."

They didn't move. For obvious reasons.

Xander turned around. He noticed that Giles was in front, flanked by Buffy and Willow. Kennedy was there as well. Along with a few other slayers.

"Giles. A pleasure, as always." Xander smiled. It didn't reach his eye. "There something I can do for you?"

"You can start with exactly what you think you're doing," Giles said, angrily.

"What I'm doing is really quite simple. There's a fight coming. In about a week. A pretty damn good-sized army is bringing the fight to American soil. Backed with some pretty hefty firepower by a less than domestic source. Not exactly, you're standard end of the world scenario. But, I'm expecting some trouble. So, I'm packing heavy." Xander replied, loudly. Making sure that everyone could hear it. The slayers. The watchers. Especially the ones that were standing near Giles. "I am to make sure that they're given the proper welcome. And, I'm taking volunteers. Which I've already got. As you can see. That done, I'm going to home now. There's still stuff I got to do."

"Xander. I can't allow you to take them." Giles stepped forward. He knew that he was playing for an audience. "You lie to them. You keep the truth from them. To fight your own little war. They have no idea what it's for. And they have no idea what it is that you really do. Your secrets will get them killed."

"Says the only man here who was a proper Watcher," Xander replied. "Yes. I keep secrets from them. News flash, secrets are our stock and trade around here. Secrets are why they're here running around your little camp instead of under lock and key in some government laboratory. Getting vivisected. To see what makes them tick. Secrets are why you're still here instead of rotting in an unmarked grave for the shit you've pulled. Secrets are why the world doesn't know of your existence. It's what you all get to run around playing hero. This is what we do. You included. So don't come down here, thinking I'm not to be trusted because I lie on more than one occasion."

"And that's why we don't trust you." Buffy exclaimed. She looked to be in worse shape than Faith was. It was clear who won that fight. "You run around with your secrets, playing secret agent man. Using these girls. Killing people. And you see absolutely nothing wrong with it. You're no better than any of them."

"That's right." Xander agreed. "That's exactly what I'm doing. Except, I'm worse. And that's why I win. But, you know what? As bad as I am? As many people as I've maimed and murdered over the last year or so. I never take anybody with me that isn't willing to come. I didn't pressgang anybody into standing by my side. So if I'm the bastard here, then what's that make you? Slayer."

The crowd murmured. They were all on Xander's side already. But, that didn't mean that they didn't have any loyalty to Giles. They wouldn't still be there if they didn't.

"I'm going to walk back to the House, get in my car, and drive home," Xander stated. "Now. You can try to stop me. But, honestly, how far are you willing to go? I mean, your previous attempts didn't do it. How nasty are you willing to go? Cause that's what it's going to take. You going to kill me? You going to do that right now? You willing to go back to that?"

"Please, Xander. There's a better solution than that." Giles looked down. He remembered the man he had murdered. It had left its own weight upon his soul. And as loathe, as he may be to admit it, he didn't want to have to go that far with Xander. No matter how difficult things had gotten. There had to be a better way. He just had to find it. "We're above such things. We don't have to stoop to that level. We just want you to stop."

"Like what?" Xander looked around at the gathered slayers. He knew he had their attention. "You already used my best friend to mind-fuck me."

Xander looked at Willow. She couldn't meet his gaze. "You think I've gone off the reservation? What the hell, Giles? I may be scum, but at least I'm honest scum."

The one-eyed man shook his head. "Dirty pool, Giles. Dirty pool."

"Xander. Look around you, there's nowhere to go." Buffy said. She crossed her arms. "You're staying here."

"Alright. If this is the way you want to play it." Xander shook his head. He really hadn't wanted it to come down to this. They were forcing his hand. It was, unfortunate. "I'm sick of this. I figure I let it go this long out of some extreme sense of loyalty. To family. But, the way things have been going out in the real world, I don't have that luxury anymore. So it's ultimatum time. I gave these women everything I could. Cost me a hell of a lot to do it. If you think the Devil's bad, man….anyway, if they want me gone, then I'm gone. Till then, I'm staying."

He reached behind his back and pulled out a small pistol. He tossed it to the grass in front of the Watcher. He turned around and raised his arms level to his shoulders, head bent down.

"One shot. In the back of the head." Xander pointed to the base of his skull with his right hand. He didn't hear a sound. "Real quick. Real clean. And I'm gone. Just like you wanted. Do it. If you think you're the one that should be calling the shots, then do it. Remove my influence, if you think it's so fucking bad. If you're the man for this war, then prove it. Prove you've got what it takes. Prove that you'll go as far as me. Of course, everything I've brought in goes with me. My allies go on the war path. And all the cover that I've given your operations is gone. You're on your own. No safety net. You think you're so ready for it, then do it. Man up."

Nobody moved. The eyes were on Giles.

He glanced at the weapon at his feet. Disgusted with himself that he was tempted to pick it up. In the end, he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Giles closed his eyes for a moment.

Xander figured that he wouldn't. Giles was of all things a good man. Well-intentioned as the best of them. It was a shame to take advantage of it.

He turned around and walked forward, picking up the gun. He shoved it behind his back again. "That's what I thought. It's over. I do what I do. I ask for permission if I use the slayers. I ask permission from Faith. That's it. And you keep _her_, away from me. And you keep the witch out of my head. Or things get ugly. You are fast approaching the limits of my politeness here. Whatever we were, it's gone. It's all uncharted territory now. I suggest you find a map."

Xander didn't wait for a response. The lack of action was all the answer he needed. He noticed that Faith and Vi walked with him.

"Are you crazy?" Faith exclaimed, as soon as they had gotten out of view. "What if he had shot you. Hell, what if Buffy had shot you."

Xander stopped and pulled the gun again. He ejected the magazine and showed it to Faith.

It was empty.

He put it back in the gun and put it back into place.

Xander started walking again.

Faith chuckled as she watched them leave. "Evidently, not that crazy."


	64. Chapter Sixty Three

**Chapter 63: The Last Night On Planet Earth**

Author's Note: There's one bit's from a preview of the S8 comic. It's not really a spoiler, since it's mainly just a joke and there's no plot in it.

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Five Days Prior…

"Okay. This is what we got." Assistant Director Lampkin used his laser pointer to highlight the first image on the screen. "The main force that we're going to be facing look like this. I know, you've seen most of it already from Cindy's reports, but let's just go through this. We've authenticated their species as the Cython. They're strong, fast, armored, and unlike most demons, they've got ranged weaponry. Poisonous darts. Fast ROF. And claws."

Protection runes had been hastily drawn around the room, some of them drawn on paper and taped up on the ceiling. In addition to the sweeps, the room had been determined to be secured. Security protocols had been strictly enforced. Especially given how close they were to the endgame.

Curtis raised his hand. "What kind of poison? We have a cure?"

"From what we heard from the Peruvians, it's an organophosphate. They managed to find some samples during their tracking. As a result, everyone's going to be equipped with atropine autoinjectors," Lampkin replied. He flicked to the next slide. "They got lucky and were able to pull up an encyclopedia on demonic forces commonly used as soldiers from back in the day. Full specs on these guys. Copies have been uploaded to the database. Memorize them. Xander, I want you to download them and distribute it to your people."

"Yes, sir." Xander made a notation on his notebook.

"Okay." Taylor switched to the next slide. It was a satellite image of the Alaskan snow. "From the scout team's count, we've got them located. We're looking at 5,000 plus. They're moving at a fixed march, with outriders. Covering them is a magical shield. A heavy one. Cindy's helped us locate the source of that. We just pulled this a couple of hours ago. This is what she figures the source is."

Taylor clicked to the next slide on his sideshow presentation. It was a screen capture of a video that had been taken from the scout team's video equipment. One of the team on recon had managed to get some video. Even though it was taken from a long distance away, it was still fairly clear. Clear enough for identification.

Taylor turned back to the team. "We've identified the subject as-"

"Amy Madison," Xander finished.

"Yeah," Taylor confirmed. "Born in Sunnydale, California. DOB, 1981. You know her?"

"Yes, sir." Xander nodded. "I thought she was gone. She disappeared after Sunnydale got blown up. I guess she's still trying for power. Guess it's who Jesse was referring to."

"This going to be a problem for you?" Lampkin looked at his subordinate.

"No, sir." Xander shook his head. "I'll see what I can remember about her and send you a report."

"Good." Lampkin turned back to the presentation. "From Cindy's surface scan she registers at a 13.5/15 to 14.5/15 on the Django/Yutani scale. That's with some power boost from Sekhmet. It's going to take some heavy firepower to bust through that shield if we're going to engage them. Rosenberg hasn't been cleared. So we'll have to go with the forces we have currently. That's Plan A."

"How close are they to the artifact?" Xander looked over the diagram of the shield. From Cindy's breakdown, it would have to be big. Thick too, metaphysically speaking. Willow could definitely have helped, though perhaps not in direct engagement. Though security clearance was an issue.

That, of course, would have been waived if not for the report that Cindy, Linda, and a few of the others had put together. More than ten pages long it summed her up as being extremely powerful, but lacking experience. And, sheer magical power would not be enough for the battle ahead. It wasn't like Willow was actually a goddess.

"Within safety limits," Lampkin said. He flicked to a map. His laser pointed hovered over a large plain that eventually led to a narrow rocky canyon running through the west end of it, leading towards the Vault. "We plan to engage them here. It's an open field and will allow us good access to the enemies. Clear field of vision for our guys. They'll also have to start to pull in their outriders to make their move on the base. It's also still within the safe zone. That canyon's still miles away from the center of the plain."

"What's the plan?" Curtis asked.

"We need to figure out how to crack that shield," Lampkin replied. He had a team working on multiple methods to accomplish that. Magical and mystical. Some nearing completion. Which one would be ideal was another question. "After that we'll be using B-52 Stratofortresses to saturation bomb the area. Northick III incendiary. Effectively a napalm strike. Spectre Gunships and A-10's will be provide close air support and be used to mop up the remaining demons. Intel's says they're limited to ground troops, so we'll be in luck. Still, there will be a flight of F22's from the 27th to provide fighter support."

"And the requested ground forces?" Xander asked. It was only half in reference to the slayers. Along with the troops that Paul had brought along, as well as their international allies, it would be pretty crowded on the ground.

"A precautionary measure. If that witch is able to deflect or divert the fire we're going to be pouring down, they may cross the zone. We're hoping it's not necessary, but we don't have enough of our own infantry to handle it," Lampkin explained. He flicked to the next slide. "As you can see, they'll be mostly bunkered down under cover. Should it become necessary for them to act, they'll have clear lines of fire and fall back positions. The last one is at the foot of the canyon. A natural chokepoint."

"Sekhmet is elemental in nature. They call her the Lady of Flame," Xander stated, recalling the information that they had been given earlier about their main target. "We have an idea on what Northick's going to do to her avatar?"

"Cindy's given us the likely scenarios. From the intel we have, she's linked to the witch's life energy at this point. Fueling her magic. All the way. If Madison goes, then the link dies and Sekhmet is neutralized. Permanently." Lampkin replied. "We will be monitoring the situation just in case. The saturation will start edge in to see if there's any changes as the heat gets closer to her."

Xander glanced the plan over. It looked alright to his eye. Though he wasn't exactly the best at reading large scale tactical plans. Even the memories that were not his own didn't have that in them. Whatever soldier he had been that one night had been pretty much what he was now. Just another grunt. If somewhat trained better than some.

He nodded, placing his trust in his superior. "Okay, sir."

"Okay, that's the general overview. Now for the brass tacks." Lampkin flicked to the next slide.

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Now…

Xander walked through the large warehouse with his companion. It was filled with support personnel packing boxes and crates. Some of the slayers, wizards, and watchers were there to look it over and to make sure that their own special equipment was packed.

He walked over to a long table where Bill Naslund was taking apart a rather huge rifle. Colleen was watching him do it.

"How's it going, Nailer," Xander said, in greeting to the man that had helped cover his butt in Arizona. He didn't really recognize the weapon on the table.

"Can't complain." Bill took out a coupling and packed it in a foam case. "How's it going on your end?"

Xander shrugged. "Lot of new faces. I guess the brass didn't have time to fully recruit all the teams. I just hope that the quick overview they've gotten will be enough."

"You got a bunch of army runts and marines. They're too fucking dumb to know that they should panic." The former Navy SEAL glanced at the young woman that was standing next to him. "Sorry."

Xander laughed. He looked towards the weapon that was on the long metal table. "This what I think it is?"

"Yup." Bill nodded. "The X-EM 36. We pulled it from DARPA R&D."

"The prototype?" Xander remarked. He remembered reading about some of the experimental weapons that were currently in development. It paid to stay on top of the newest technologies. Anything could end up being useful in the fight. Hell, the F-22 Raptors had just started their production run. The 27th Fighter Squadron housed at Langley Air Force Base was the first deployable unit. "Does it work?"

"Hell yeah it works." Bill said. He patted the gun, rather lovingly. "And, it's not actually the prototype. It's the second experimental model. Got the real bad kinks worked out."

"Yeah?" Xander nodded. He glanced over at Faith. She didn't say anything but she seemed rather impressed. Probably by the size. "How's it handle?"

"You're talking about a muzzle velocity in excess of 25,000 feet per second. About a 2 pound projectile with a range of over 5 miles," Bill said, proudly. "This baby puts out more than 60 mega-joules of kinetic energy on target."

"Which means what?" Faith asked. The jargon was like hearing Andrew explain his favorite television shows. And just about as incomprehensible.

"It means this baby's like shooting a Tomahawk missile the size of a bullet," Bill responded.

"It's penetration over just pure explosive power," Xander told her. "The more energy spread over a smaller area can more easily penetrate armor. Or in this case, a magical shield."

"Still in development though," Colleen added. She had read up on the technical specifications of the weapon as well. It was like a marksman, or woman's, wet dream. Too bad it wasn't ready for regular use though.

"Yeah?" Faith asked. It was all rather sci-fi to her. The other slayer seemed to be picking up on it pretty well.

"Well, for one thing look at it." Colleen waved a hand down the length of the weapon. At nearly nine feet in length it was certainly big enough. "Damn thing wears a ton, and breaking it down still takes about twenty minutes. Setup's just about as long."

Bill nodded in agreement. "And you only get one shot. You get too much rail damage from ablation for a second shot. You basically got to change out the barrel after each time the rifle is fired."

Xander grimaced. He knew the weapon worked, otherwise they wouldn't bring it along. The rate of fire on the other hand, was a serious concern. Especially if Amy wasn't taken out and could determine the sniper's position. That would be enough for an experienced wizard to cast a lethal spell."

"Still, it is better than nothing. Supersonic round from that far away, that witch ain't going to know what hit her," Bill stated. Of course, it was plan B. The better option was to just bring down the magical shield with their own wizards. The combined magical power should be enough to do it. With their knowledge, they should be able to find the best way to bypass and bring down the shield. But, with a goddess involved, things didn't always go as planned.

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Four Days Prior…

"You need to sign this." Xander passed the packet of papers to Dawn. He handed her a pen as well.

"What is this?" Dawn looked at him suspiciously.

"Non-disclosure agreement. Everyone has to sign one. There's also a waiver. You know, you're a volunteer and in the event of injury or death nobody's going to get sued. It also includes the terms of your payment. Your W4 form. Some other stuff. Social security. Medicare. Insurance." Xander shrugged. "Look, it's standard procedure. We can't exactly have you speaking to people about stuff you shouldn't. And we need to make sure that all the necessary taxes are withheld. It's technical, but it's fair. Faith even signed one."

"Okay." Dawn took more than a few minutes to carefully read the whole contract.

Xander waited as she did so. He glanced around the park. Faith was on a park bench a little way away watching over them. There was nobody else there that early in the morning, barring a few joggers. The air was still crisp and the leaves were in the middle of turning. He thought back to the three months or so since he had been back. A lot had happened. Been on the job pretty much consistently for coming on 16 months. He really needed some downtime after this one.

Dawn passed the signed contract back to Xander. He placed it into his shoulder bag. "So what's this all about?"

"We'll be going to Alaska. There's an army that's been formed and is heading there to get that crystal that we obtained a while back." Xander closed up his bag and set it next to him on the bench he was sitting at. He laid his forearms on the picnic table and looked at the woman sitting across from him. "From what we can tell, it's a pretty high number. Thousands."

"And the slayers are going to fight them?" Dawn's eyes widened. She hadn't been in the cave during the Stand, but she had heard the stories. A lot of girls had walked into that pit, too many didn't come out. And they hadn't even had to fight most of the turok-han.

"Maybe. If things go badly. It really depends on the situation." Xander didn't try to sugarcoat the situation. "If we're facing something that acts like what we've seen in the past, then we have a better chance of surviving this thing intact. But, the enemy's more intelligent than most. So we'll see."

"So you're going to be leading them?" Dawn asked. She tried to picture it. It was rather difficult. While Xander had obviously led slayers, or at least a team, before, it was difficult to see him do so with hundreds. Even with their section commanders.

"No." The government agent shook his head. "We've got somebody else that's going to do the strategic leading. Same guy that ran us in Arizona. I will be there though. You can count on that."

Dawn cocked her head. "Really? I thought you were all Nick Fury and stuff."

"I think that's getting a bit old," Xander replied. "Besides, it's not really my thing. My orders were just to get the people. If it's any reassurance, the one they've got leading this thing is more than qualified. Better than me at any rate."

"Really? Who?" Dawn asked.

"You'll meet him," Xander responded, a bit vaguely. "There's something else we need to discuss first."

"Oh yeah?" Dawn wondered what other bombshells the man had to drop. "What is it?"

"The agreement you just signed?" Xander pointed to his bag. He also braced himself for the vocal reaction he expected. "It's a government contract. Which means a great benefits package."

She didn't move for a second. Then Dawn's mouth gaped open.

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Now…

Xander looked over to the box that some young airmen were loading. It was half-filled with cases of ammunition. From the looks of it they were 5.56mm NATO rounds. He walked over and picked up a box that yet to be loaded. "These the AP rounds?"

"Yes, sir." One of the young airmen replied. He stopped what he was doing and looked at the pair that had approached him. As impressive as the reputation of the one-eyed man was, his eyes were drawn to the woman. "Teflon coated for the pistol rounds as requested."

"I heard of that," Faith leaned over to look at what Xander was viewing. "Cop killers right? Supposed to go through armor like they were paper right?"

"Uh, not exactly." Xander put the box down. He led the slayer out of hearing distance, and away from the two young men that had stopped working and were looking at the attractive slayer. "It's a common misconception really. Actually, the Teflon only protects the barrel from excessive wear from the brass core. It doesn't help penetration any. We're using AP cause of the natural armor the demons have."

Faith nodded. It was odd hearing him speak about a topic knowledgeably. And it was nice having him explain something without making fun of her mistake. Sometimes Willow and Giles could be more than a little condescending. Even if they didn't mean to. "Xander…"

"Don't sweat it." Xander started walking again.

He reached Wesker, out of his domain, for once. Guess the end of the world brought out all the crazies. The good doctor was packing the autoinjectors. A number of different kinds.

"We get everything?" Xander asked, reaching the table.

Dr. Wesker looked up from his clipboard. "Yes. Enough atropine to supply everyone. Med kits. And also, my own personal invention."

Xander picked up one of the syringes. It was brushed steel with a blue band along the top. "Which one's this now?"

"A formula of my own creation." Wesker took the syringe from the young man's hand and put it in a box. "A mixture of lycanthrope salivary enzymes and synthesized Mohra blood plasma."

"In English, Doc?" Xander replied.

"It makes you heal faster. Even on seemingly mortal wounds," The Level 6 scientist explained.

"Some type of magical cure-all?" Faith questioned.

The doctor looked at her blankly. "There's nothing magical about this."

"Any side effects?" Xander asked, not wanting the two to get into an argument.

Dr. Wesker shrugged. "There haven't been any human trials, but it's got a 75 success rate on rats for lethal wounds. Best against bleedouts. I won't bore you on the details of the tests."

"Goodie," Faith interjected.

"Anything else?" Xander tossed in quickly.

"Uh, on humans there is a small chance of developing lycanthrophy." Dr. Wesker said, a bit irked at not having been able to fully perfect the formula before having it rushed into production.

"What now?" Faith didn't like the sound of that.

"There's a small chance that it could make you into a werewolf," Wesker replied. He shrugged. "The intermix between the lycanthrope proteins and the Mohra aspects of it might not have been balanced finely enough."

He shrugged again.

"And on slayers?" Xander asked, glancing at the woman next to him.

"Right. Right." Wesker glanced at the slayer as well. "Don't worry. Those particular aspects of the enzymes have been removed. Trust me."

Faith looked between the two, wondering what she had missed.

Xander just looked at the scientist. And, slowly nodded. The look was obvious to both of the men.

He turned his back and walked off, leaving the other man to his work. Faith followed behind.

"Looks like that's it." Faith said as they finished their sweep. They ended up in a corner, somewhat removed from the bustle of the warehouse. "You think the girls will do okay?"

"They've been well-trained. And the way it looks, they shouldn't have to do much but support and mop up." Xander sighed. "I hope anyway."

"You think we'll lose any?" Faith mind traveled back to Sunnydale.

"Sooner or later." Xander's mind was in the same place. "I reckon we'll all be happier with later."

"Yup." Faith watched as Curtis appeared along the wall and pulled out a cell phone.

"What's he doing?" Faith nodded in the ex-FBI man's direction.

Xander turned around and looked. It wasn't an all-together unfamiliar sight. Especially given the circumstances. "Probably calling his wife and kids."

"Why?" Faith asked.

"It might be the last time he ever talks to them again," Xander replied. With the communications blackout on site, he wouldn't be getting another chance. At least until after. If there was an after.

It wasn't limited to Curtis though. Xander knew that a number of similar calls would be made that night. For the same reasons. The men and women he worked with weren't like those in the past. They had all been volunteers. For both their regular service and their new one here. They hadn't been picked by the night, one way or another, like many of the slayers, watchers, and various demon hunters out there. Some of these government personnel had no one back home. Still, most of them did. Mothers and fathers. Sisters and brothers. Daughters and sons. And while there wasn't a large one, there was still a chance that they might never see them again.

Faith didn't say anything. It was rather odd though. In her experience, she hadn't met any demon hunters that actually had real lives with other people outside of the fight. Girlfriends and boyfriends maybe. But, a wife? Children? That was something of a rarity. Though Robin was himself the child of a slayer.

"I think I need to make a call." Faith said, as she left.

Xander just watched her go.

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Three Days Prior…

"You may want to take a look at this, Xander." The assistant director handed a manila folder over to the young special agent.

Xander opened the folder and read through the report. The information was a bit disturbing. Though hardly surprising. The speed on the other hand, was.

"Do I want to know how you got this?" Xander asked, as he finished skimming the couple of pages.

Lampkin shrugged. "Damn fool reporter e-mailed his dispatches in from the field. We pulled this from the ECHELON grabs from Meade."

"Joy. I'm sure the taxpayers are ecstatic at where their tax dollars are going," Xander, grumbled as he closed the folder.

"Don't knock it. If we didn't have it, we wouldn't have this." Lampkin chided the younger, and still oddly idealistic, man. "Besides, I didn't see you complain when we co-opted that Key Hole back in Arizona for you. CIA's not exactly supposed to be doing domestic covert ops. Or when you planted evidence on Wells. We don't make policy."

"Yeah, well, maybe we should." Xander frowned. It wasn't so much the usage, since technically it was legal. Just that the implications for those that he wouldn't want observed were rather distressing.

He put the folder back onto Taylor's desk.

"Anyway, we're going to have to do something about this Ray Cusack." Lampkin picked up the folder and laid it in front of him. "He actually seems like he might be intelligent."

"What are we talking about here?" Xander didn't react. He didn't expect it to go that far. Still, the security measures that were in place were there for a reason. And weren't subject to much leeway when it came to people that nobody knew. "You going to sanction him or something?"

"Probably not," Lampkin replied. "He doesn't have much on you. Thankfully."

"And the reason you're telling me this is?" Xander asked.

The assistant director of Level 6 shrugged. "Grainer says to watch yourself. The reputation we've been crafting for you is starting to get out of hand. You can stop with the playing cards for the time being."

"Okay." Xander nodded. "Anything else?"

"We're going to be doing cover. Laying some false trails. Hopefully, it'll be enough," Lampkin said.

"Who's the girl?" Xander asked.

"New reporter at the Times apparently," Lampkin explained, referring to the other reporter on the story. "His partner for the time being. We're watching her too."

"You going to tell me you guys had people break into their houses?" Xander wasn't sure if he disapproved of that or not. That thought stopped him for a moment, though he covered it.

"Do I need to?" Lampkin said, simply. He had had his own issues with sending in teams to comb through the homes and personal possessions of innocent civilians. Of course, he couldn't very well tell his underling that. It was one of the privileges, and burdens, of leadership.

Still, if they could find anything, it was better than the alternative. Which would eventually get authorized if the journalists ended up being extremely good at their jobs. And, managed to get to at least half of the truth of the situation.

Xander chuckled darkly. "I guess not."

It was funny, in the movies government agencies and their agents, tended to act however they saw fit. Laws and regulations tended to only come up in order to provide a conflict for the subplot. Or to provide some angst for the characters. And, the rules they broke pretty much always ended up being justified. And the people that were hurt always had it coming. It was rather different in real life.

Still, he would have thought it would have affected him more than it did. Or maybe it was because it usually only affected those that he didn't particularly like. Didn't seem to be the case here though. Maybe he was getting too desensitized to it.

"I'll keep you appraised of the situation." Lampkin, said in conclusion.

"Okay." Xander stood up and left the office. He hoped they wouldn't get any closer. For their sakes.

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Now…

"Ugh." Cindy walked up to Xander and hugged him. She had been reading some of their recent findings, but there hadn't been all that much to do besides wait. Jack did not do that very well.

"Something wrong?" Xander asked as he let go of the older witch. "Do I smell?"

"No. Just, weeks with that, that man." Cindy shook her head and grimaced. "I really need a vacation."

Xander smiled. "C'mon, Jack can't be that bad. Can he?"

"Yeah, because you're a guy." Cindy smiled back at him. She looked over his shoulder at the newcomers in the room. "Those the new guys?"

"Pretty much." Xander looked over his shoulder at the multi-ethnic group of magic users that had come with him to Alaska. They were looking around the small building. A quick setup that had been hastily converted. Other buildings had been converted too, but the one they were in now served as her workspace and library. It wasn't like her office back home though. But, it would do for the time being. "Some of them are apparently pretty good. You'll need to practice working together though."

"I know. Interweaving a disruptor is going to be tricky." Cindy nodded. "Especially if she's been amped by a major power source. Finding a way through isn't going to be easy."

"An all-mighty power source," Xander said. "And you all need to get close without her picking you up too. But, we can talk about it later. How have things been?"

"Good," Cindy said. "Weird though. Not having the team together. Paul's been gone to get what forces he could to come."

"Yeah. It has been off. But, he's back now." Xander nodded in agreement. "Still, I guess we got some new friends to hang out with."

"What about the others? Anybody interesting." Jack came up to his commander. He had been watching over what Cindy had been doing. Mainly getting in the way. The man wasn't made for the research. Still, he didn't look the worse for wear, and not at all chagrined at not having been very good company to the other member of the team. He nodded towards the witch that he recognized in the back group.

Linda smiled back and resumed looking over the selection of magical supplies and books that were currently in the building that would serve as their workshop.

"They're looking over their housing for the time being," Xander replied.

"Probably not going to like the beds." Abby came up and embraced Xander as well.

Xander grinned at the slayer. "Satsu's with the others seeing about getting everything settled in."

Abby smiled in gratitude and left without another word, making sure not to run until after she was out of sight.

Xander just shook his head. He looked at his witch again. "C'mon, let me introduce you to the crew."

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Two Days Prior…

"Fear my awesome power." Xander held his wrapped hands up in a fighting stance. The heavy bag swayed slowly before him. "For lo, like Kurt Russell before me, I am a formidable eyepatch-clad opponent."

He didn't see Paul walk into the workout room.

"And lest you think I refer to Captain Ron," Xander continued, "let me assure you that the one-eyed character of which I speak is none other than the mighty Snake Plissken, who taught me the very ass-handing I'm about to deliver unto _you_."

"Plissken?" Paul said, smiling as Xander turned around. "I thought you'd be taller."

"Call me Snake." Xander said, unwrapping his hands and tossing the used hand guards on a bench. "I'm impressed. A movie you actually have seen. You catch that in seminary?"

"I never went to seminary." The hugely built man shrugged. "And, I wasn't always a knight."

"You never did tell me how you got dragged into the fight." Xander walked over to the bench in the well-equipped gym and picked up a towel. He wiped himself off. He felt better. He wasn't sore any longer, and the small wound on his arm had already dropped its scab.

"That is true." Paul said, blankly. "Not much to tell though."

"Just makes me more interested." Xander grinned. "How have things been going? Been a while since we've talked."

"Well enough," Paul said, not really explaining himself. Like Batman of the Justice League, he may have been part of the team, but it didn't mean that that was all he did. A part-timer at best. Though what little he was there for, counted for a lot. For all of them. "I heard what happened on your end."

"Yeah." Xander had a feeling that the man could see more into him than others could. And that he could tell, though maybe not in detail, what else he had done. Or at least its weight. Maybe it was his aura, or maybe it was just guilt.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Paul picked up a large hand weight and started a repetition. He looked into the mirrored surface of the wall.

"Not really." Xander shook his head. He picked up a weight as well. But, much much lighter. "It's nothing I can't handle. And I'm not exactly the type of guy that goes to confession."

"You think you have anything to confess?" Paul asked.

"More like everything," Xander quipped.

Paul stopped. "Was it worth it?"

Xander stopped as well. He looked at the man's reflection in the mirror along the wall. "Yes."

"Do you feel bad about it?" Paul asked, switching hands. He resumed lifting.

"No." Xander said. He switched hands as well. "Yes."

Paul let it hang in the air for a moment. "Maybe that's penance enough."

"You think so?" Xander asked. He wasn't sure how much of that was hope.

"Not really." Paul put down the weight. "But, it's a start."

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Now…

"Okay, that's most of it. You can also start reading this. Though you'll probably know much of it already." Xander handed the younger Summers a notebook. It wasn't an official publication, but it was rather nicely made. Photocopies and printouts of the information that she would find informative. It was all bound in a spiral bound book. To a college student, it would have looked like a reader. Of course, neither had gone, nor would go. "Most of the people that are going to start to get these don't have any experience."

Dawn flipped through it. Some of the pages were somewhat familiar. Much of it was a general overview of common demons and the magic that filled their world. Other pages went on about the breakdown of the teams. As well as some of the common weapons that were employed. "They're pretty mad still. Though, oddly enough Giles has mellowed some. Probably cause of the slayers."

Xander paused. "Really? Didn't see that coming."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Robin managed to get Buffy and Willow to calm down though. They aren't going to be going after you. With the way that the other slayers have been talking, they aren't going to be doing much of anything for the time being. Robin's effectively taken control of the Council. But, you had no idea that would happen. Did you Xander."

"No idea whatsoever." Xander shook his head. He kept a straight face.

"How long have you been planning this?" Dawn crossed her arms across her chest. She stared intently at the man.

"Not that long." Xander said, as ambiguously as possible.

Dawn just stood there in the middle of his apartment.

"Since Germany." Xander shook his head again. "What'd you want me to do? Let them screw everything up?"

"You could have talked to us." Dawn glared at him.

"I've been through that already," Xander replied, confrontationally. "Look, it's not as easy as you think. We all got to follow orders. Even ones we don't necessarily agree with. Way of the world."

"Still." Dawn wavered. She could see that it did affect him. That he wasn't totally heartless. If he wasn't, she would never have joined him.

"Buffy's your sister." Xander back down as well. "I get that. But, this is the way it goes. It's handled. Nobody had to die. Leave it at that."

"And that's all that matters to you?" Dawn asked. "That nobody got killed? That the slayers aren't in cages? Who cares about anything else? I know you better than that. You care. And, I know this is eating at you."

"At this point, it's about all I could get." Xander looked away. Not able to meet her gaze.

"You don't have to go through this alone." Dawn said, softly. She lay a hand on his arm.

"I'm not alone," Xander said.

Dawn shook her head. "Aren't you?"

"Maybe you're right," Xander said, after a moment. "But, I don't have the time to worry about that right now. You should get out of here. Back your stuff. Get some sleep. We're going to be leaving soon. I think Buffy's going to have some words for you before you go."

Dawn walked to the door with Xander. She looked behind before Xander could close the door. "You don't have to be. Not anymore."

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One Day Prior...

Giles walked back into his office. He wasn't sure what he felt anymore. He was still functioning as head of the Council, but he could tell. The slayers didn't do much of anything without looking to Robin first. Some of the watchers and wizards acted the same. He felt, admitting it to himself for the first time perhaps, out of his depth.

He closed the door behind him, still lost in thought. He didn't turn on the overhead lights, though there was enough from the outside that it wasn't strictcly necessary. He paused for a moment, before walking further into the office. The head Watcher, though now only in title, pulled a book out of a shelf and sat down in his chair. He reached down and opened a drawer. He felt around, but didn't find what he was looking for.

"Looking for this?" Xander raised his right hand, the small snub-nose revolver in his gloved hand. He turned on the light in the corner with his left. He walked into the center of the office. "Don't bother calling for anyone. I'll be gone before anyone that could stop me could get inside."

"How did you get inside the house?" The watcher asked.

Xander smiled. "I was in construction remember? Hell, I helped renovate this place remember? Did you really think that you could have a mansion like this, not even changing your protocols, and keep me out? Honestly, did you even remember what it is that I used to do a for living?"

"Why are you here, Xander?" Giles stated, coldly.

Xander walked closer towards the desk. The smile fell from his face. "I guess...well, I guess I felt the need to put my house in order."

"A guilty conscience?" Giles asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Please," Xander scoffed. "I'm so far behind that, that all I've got is guilt. There ain't no conscience in me anymore."

"Then what do you want?" Giles replied. He wondered what he should do. He didn't think that Xander would try to hurt him. If he had been, the young man probably would have done it already.

"You know you were like a father to me?" Xander chuckled to himself. "I mean, my dad, he wasn't exactly Father of the Year, you know? He wasn't absolute crap, don't get me wrong. He may have smacked me around a couple of times, but I deserved it mostly. He provided for his family but, that was about it. He got out of Sunnydale before the fall, but I never had it in me to look him up. I mean, after I was like ten years old, we just never had much use for each other. And my mom, she wasn't hardly there, even when she was."

"Where is this going?" Giles asked, knowing that the man was speaking more to himself than to him.

"I'm just saying that there weren't exactly a whole lot of father figures in my life that amounted to anything," Xander explained. "What did I get? Wilkins as mayor? Snyder? Not exactly a bastion of care and sympathy. So you could imagine that I looked up to you. I loved you, man."

The watcher couldn't find the words.

"It hurt. It hurt a lot being left behind, I won't deny it. And a grim part of me did enjoy coming back. As a new man of sorts." Xander shook his head. "But, it was never about that. I mean, you picking Andrew over me. Stung like hell, but I got over it. This, right now, between us? It ain't about that. See, I'm not some psychopath. I have feelings. But, I'm not out for vengeance. And right now, I still have a hell of a lot of respect for you. And, even more for what it is that you're trying to do. Thing is, you're just doing it really badly. That's not your fault, not really. You didn't get trained to lead an army. But, well, that's the way it goes sometimes. So I did what I had to. To fix things."

"And you're in the best position to do that?" Giles removed his glasses. He rubbed his eyes. More out of weariness than anything else.

"Probably not. But, there aren't a whole lot of other people coming to do it. At least, nobody that even remotely would have your best interests in mine. I'm just about all you got on that side of things." Xander shrugged. "Look this is about it. Let Robin run things, and I don't have to come back much. At least, not to get in your way. You're a good man. You did what you could for Buffy. And the potentials. It was something. And I guess you're trying to do that now. Just, just make sure that you get it right this time. Learn something that's not in all these books over here. Robin's got talents. Use them. Cause, since I'm not going to be around as much, you're not going to have me fixing your messes anymore. Course, that also means I got nowhere to run back to. So we're all on our own."

"Xander, you can come back to us." Giles blurted out, not sure why he had said it.

"No. No I can't." Xander shook his head slowly. "I think that's about it. Sometimes, the son has to grow up. And, be his own kind of man. That's something I picked up. Partly from you I think. And, as screwed up as I am, it still says something about you how you can force a kid like me to grow up."

"And this is how it ends between us?" The watcher questioned.

"This is how it has to stay," Xander corrected. He swung out the cylinder and ejected the bullets out onto the floor He laid the now empty gun on the desk. "For what's it worth, you did do quite a bit well. So, for what's it worth, thanks. Dad."

Xander walked over to one of the large windows and opened it. He attached the line to a clip on his belt and hopped over the wall, descending quickly. He jogged quickly through the grass.

Giles walked to the open window and watched the young man disappear into the darkness of the night. He made to turn away, but couldn't. He whispered, "Good luck. Son."

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Now...

Xander stood in the back of the hall as Paul led a number of the personnel in prayer. A number of people weren't there. Gbenga. Iron-knife. Three quarters of the slayers. Cindy.

Still, the room was packed. Paul's fellow knights had joined him. Some of their Canadian allies. Even that young mage that the Peruvians had let them borrow at the last minute.

He watched as they finished up. He made his way out the door to beat the rush. Curtis followed him out.

"Any reason you showed up?" Curtis asked as Xander turned the corner to get away from the crowd exiting the makeshift dining hall. He stood next to Xander in the shadow of the building.

He wasn't much of a believer himself, though he had gone to Sunday School as a child. It had dwindled and stopped as he got older, but past events had given him something of a new outlook on the subject.

Night had already fallen and the camp was mostly dark. Sodium lamps lit up the main areas, but next to the buildings, there was only the night. No snow, which was good. But, it was still plenty cold.

"Don't really know," Xander said. He laid his head back against the insulated metal wall. It rapidly cooled his head. Even through the knit cap he had on. It probably wasn't that smart to do, but he did it anyways. He sighed, and turned his head. "I didn't see you praying."

"I get the feeling that if He's up there, he probably don't give a shit about what's going on down here." Curtis leaned against the cold metal wall as well. The night blended with his dark skin, nearly making his head disappear. He pulled his coat about him tighter. Rather contradictorily. "We could use the help."

"Pretty much." Xander sniffed. He exhaled, watching his breath cloud due to the crisp air in the edges of light that illuminated the area directly in front of him. "Still, it seems to give them some comfort."

"Yeah, but I guess it's a bit easier when He answers your calls in person." Curtis chuckled. He thought it was crazy, but being able to call down the fire did something to improve one's faith. If only in one of his friends.

"Probably. I suppose it easier to think you've been put on the Earth to serve some kind of purpose." Xander looked up. More stars up in the sky up there. Removed from the city lights like they were. "To believe that you're special."

"Like the slayers?" Curtis said.

"Not really." Xander shook his head. "There ain't no God or gods in that decision. Just a bunch of luck. And that has a tendency to run out."

"No fate?" Curtis tossed back.

Xander nodded. "Pretty much."

"How you think this is going to go?" Curtis said, straight.

"Lampkin's pulled a good plan together. The right people are in place." Xander hesitated for a moment.

"What is it?" Curtis asked, concerned.

"You ever get the feeling that someday the man in charge is going to come by and tell you it's all a mistake," Xander said. "That you weren't supposed to be somebody, but just some guy working nine to five at a job he hates for the rest of his life."

"No." Curtis said, bluntly. "And neither should you. You've earned your spot here."

"Did I?" Xander shook his head. The back of his head cold. "Seems to me like a hell of a way to audition. There's got to be a better way to make a living."

"Maybe, but it's not always going to be like that." Curtis felt that something was off with the young man. And if he was going to go into battle, it was something that couldn't still be there come tomorrow. "What's the real problem?"

"Everything's changed." Xander said, simply.

"With the Council?" Curtis asked. "Giles and Buffy and Willow, right?"

Xander nodded.

"Everyone has to grow up sometime," Curtis replied.

"They aren't bad people." Xander defended them.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Curtis smiled. "Look, not everyone was meant for a life like this. Even if they were dragged into it kicking and screaming. And as good as their intentions are, it's still comes up against what happens out here in the real world."

"They aren't that bad." Xander looked down. The snow had been ground under their feet. It was gritty. Not exactly like freshly fallen powder. "They deserve better."

"That's what I like about you, Xander. You always see the best in people." The former FBI agent shook his head. "Look, what you've pulled, it protects them more than it hurts them. You can sleep soundly knowing that."

"And is that my call?" Xander asked.

"You want it to be Grainer's? Some of the boys up there in DC?" Curtis threw out. "Or throw them to the wolves? Stop second-guessing yourself. It does nobody any good. And it's going to get you killed if you keep it up. The past is past. And you've already burnt your bridges. Let it go."

"I don't think they'll just let it drop." Xander shook his head. As much of an appeal as he had tried, he knew that it wouldn't end there. At least, not for Buffy. She could be quite tenacious. Especially if he ever came back for more slayers.

"That's not your concern anymore." Curtis replied. "Don't keep going back if you don't have to. You've got your own people there. The Council's not a problem in the international sense. And they keep the small problems from getting bigger. It's enough for them to take care of. And it's enough for now."

"That's true enough." Xander couldn't help but agree.

"You can't fix everything in your life," Curtis continued. "And, you left things as well as they could be considering the situation. What else can you ask for?"

"Reconciliation," Xander stated. Knowing he hadn't really gotten it.

"Not going to happen." Curtis shook his head. "Now what do you want?"

"You know what I want." Xander replied.

"Then do it." Curtis replied, simply. "They're the reason you went back to them, not for Giles or any of the others. And as much as you may want something else, you know what it is you really want."

Xander just nodded. There wasn't anyway around it.

Curtis nodded back. Glad that something had gotten through his friend's thick skull.

"How's the family?" Xander said, after a while. If only to fill the dead air.

"Good." Curtis looked at his commander. "Cassidy and Nathan are heading back to school next week."

"That's good. Real good." Xander looked back at him. "I want kids."

Curtis couldn't find the appropriate response to that.

"Not right now. Or with you. Just, in some years. After Vi's found her place more," Xander explained further. "But, I want kids. Oddly enough, even with my parents, I want 'em. I don't want to have left this world knowing that the only thing I ever did that mattered was kill people real good."

"That's not your only legacy," Curtis replied.

"No? Feels like it sometimes." Xander worked his neck side to side. "Don't worry. I'm sure it'll happen in it's own time. When I'm ready for it. For the right reasons."

"You'd make a good father," Curtis assured him. He grinned. "Look how well you've done with Jack."

Xander chuckled. He shook off his melancholy. "I guess it's just one of those nights."

Curtis looked up at the stars. "Looks like it."

"Probably should get going," Xander said.

"Yeah. Me too." Curtis nodded and walked off, headed towards his barracks. He looked back. "These are the moments, no? Won't be getting these back again."

Xander nodded back and watched the man walk out of sight.

Xander sighed and looked up again. There wasn't anybody looking back. He whispered, "Fuck you too."

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Author's Note: Some of that didn't turn out exactly like I wanted, but it'll serve until I can think of a better way.

Oh, and I'm aware that the F-22 didn't enter service until 2005 and this story takes place in 2004. To that I say, the show had robots in the second season. Dating back more than forty years.


	65. Chapter Sixty Four

**Chapter 64: White Sands**

Xander walked down the hall to the control center. He was dressed in white camouflage, but without any web gear. Still, he had a sidearm strapped to his belt. But, it wasn't like he was going to go out into battle with the rest of the troops. If it came to that, then they were really screwed.

He was there strictly as an observer.

"You think we forgot anything? Curtis asked, from Xander's side. He was dressed similarly. A trained federal agent he may be, but he wasn't a soldier. At least, not in the official sense of the word.

They weren't concerned about where Jack as. Probably in the kitchen or galley or whatever they called it. Getting drunk or scrounging up some food.

"Nothing of note in Lemuria for us. Everything's been destroyed, except the crystal. Guess we didn't really need a computer genius considering we just destroyed most everything," Xander thought aloud. It was a lucky thing that there hadn't been a spare power source in Lemuria. Some history and artifacts. The remaining parts of the great machine. Destroyed now. Odd considering what some might think about secret government agencies. Still, when it came to such threats, it was better safe than sorry. At this point, even they knew it. "Jesse's going to be executed after this is over. The only thing left is that temple found in South America, and they've got guys on that now. Can't really think of anything we missed. At least, nothing we need to worry about."

"True." Curtis passed his security card through its slot next to the thick metal door in the hall. The sentries had already checked them over and passed them. It took a moment to cycle through before it opened. "A portal to bring forth the true power of a god? The same thing that wiped out pretty much all of the original Lemurians? That's crazy. Good thing we destroyed the gear."

Xander nodded. He remembered the translations that they had gotten. Apparently, an ancient god had been banished eons ago. Disciples for that deity had taken it upon themselves to free their god. By building a grand device that would harness the power of the universe to create a power that would blast a path through dimensions for its return. Of course, the other Lemurians hadn't taken kindly to that and stopped it from happening. But, not before causing the cataclysm that destroyed their civilization. Hopefully, it wouldn't go like that this time around.

He hoped that they had learned from history for the day's battle.

Both men walked in, taking in the scene before them. The behind the scenes work for any coordinated attack was somewhat astounding. In addition to the man in charge, there was the necessary support personnel.

It was all in a bustle. Technicians and sensor operators amongst other people. All fulfilling their specific roles.

Some were stationed at consoles to direct troop movements. Some to observe the enemy. Some to relay commands. Some to keep track of the magical going-ons. It was hectic, but controlled. Everyone knew what they were supposed to do, and they did it.

It was hard to believe that the room had been empty just a short time before. They had commandeered the army post for their use. Most of the personnel had been co-opted, the rest removed and redeployed until they were finished.

Lampkin stood straight, with his hands behind his back. He looked up at the big screen. It displayed real-time satellite coverage of the soon to be battlefield. It was rather detailed, despite the long distance. A few Predator UAVs passed more detailed information to the command center. The datastreams were sent to other monitors.

A mass of thousands of demons. With more than thirty teams doing reconnaissance and performing rear guard functions. Amy, was apparent in the mass. A central figure wrapped in a magical field. It would be extended if anything was to warn her of opposition. That was the reason why she needed to be taken out first.

All from a satellite in geosync orbit thousands of miles in the air. Technology was surely grand.

The assistant director, and now field commander, looked at the two men that had come up. "Xander. Curtis."

The two field men looked at their boss and nodded in greeting.

"How's it coming, Eccleston?" Lampkin asked the main controller. He had worked with him before. Even before Arizona. The man was trusted to take the lead and make sure things went smoothly. Utterly reliable.

"Units are all in place." Eccleston looked up from his monitor and pushed his glasses further up his nose. He scanned his monitors again for any changes. There wasn't anything there that wasn't there a second ago. "Bombers will be in place in three minutes."

Xander looked at some of the side monitors. They displayed the positions of their various forces. The briefing he had gone through earlier told him where each slayer would be. But, looking at the digitized images on the screens, he found he couldn't tell which one was which.

"I should be there," Xander muttered under his breath. It felt wrong to be so far removed from his people. They were risking it all, and he was there, miles away protected from what they were facing.

Curtis looked away from the screen he had been looking at and glanced towards his team leader. "Should you?"

"Probably not," Xander admitted. He shook his head slowly. "Still, feels like I should be out there."

"I know the feeling," The A-Team member admitted.

Abby was there. Cindy was there. Paul was there. It didn't feel right for the team not to be together. Out there. In the thick.

"You want to say something to the men?" Lampkin looked over his shoulder at the pair. Mainly to Xander.

Xander hesitated, before nodding. He walked over to Eccleston's seat and took the proffered headset. He was famous after all, even if not for particularly good reasons.

"It's a party line," The radioman said, as he handed over the communications gear. "You've got a minute."

"This is Xander," The former Sunnydale student, monster slayer, ice cream truck driver, construction worker, and now government employee said. "You all heard of me by now, but most of you haven't worked with me before. I'll make it fast."

Many of the eyes in the situation room turned towards the man. At least, for a short time, before the people in the room turned back to their various functions.

They all kept an ear open though.

He knew he should have some grandiose speech. Something prepared, but he found that he didn't have it in him. It would have all just been words said by a man that wasn't out on the front lines anyways. They deserved something more than what he could cobble together from fiction and half-remembered quotations. They deserved something truthful.

"This is serious. You know the mission. This is what you've been trained to do. Remember what you're supposed to." Xander felt his heart in his throat. He ignored it. It was no place to get weepy. He took a breath. "Nobody will remember what happens this day, except for you. Except for us. Look to the man, or woman, next to you. Remember them, for there will never been any more like them. Watch out for them. Do your jobs. And we'll all get home. Thank you."

He handed the headset back, and walked back to his original position. A technician handed him and his partner remote headsets to monitor the chatter to come.

Xander couldn't tell it at the time, but everyone had stayed quiet to listen to what he had said.

The slayers and watchers in their bunkers and behind cover in the dunes of snow a few miles away. The ones on the move already in their scout teams. Paul and his Vatican knights ready to meet God. In this life or the next. The various international teams that were prepping their weapons for the tenth time. The mages and witches in their APCs, but closer than most to the enemy. The pilots in the assorted planes making their way towards their targets.

It had been short. And amateurish. From a young man that most had only heard spoken of. Not always in the most flattering manner. But, oddly, they felt better.

Lampkin nodded towards the man. And, then turned back to the screen.

"No long speech, Xander?" Curtis whispered to his team leader.

Xander looked at him. "What did you expect? Something badass that I pulled from Braveheart or Gladiator?"

Curtis shrugged. "Something longer."

Xander looked ahead at the clock on the wall. The red digital numbers counted down. "They deserve something more than the usual clichés. Or at least, something more heartfelt, even if it is a cliché."

"That's true." Curtis nodded and returned to watching the monitors.

Lampkin looked around the room. Many of the people there had never even seen a demon before. They'd simply been told of their existence and were no expected to do their jobs. To simply accept the truth, and then move on. To rely on their training to carry them through. The fact that they were doing it was something to be commended. He was proud to work with such people.

Xander was right, there would never be another group of people brought together like this. International allies. Civilians. All brought together. The government many have created some of the alliances before him, but he had been able to make them stronger and smoother. Too bad it would only be recorded in some classified report and buried at the bottom level of the Pentagon. Still, they were his people this day. And that was enough for him.

He watched as the countdown clock hit zero. Operation White Sands had begun.

The commander listened over his headset at the preparatory statements from his various field teams out on the line. "Commence disruptor."

He watched the action unfold on his screen.

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"Roger that," Cindy said. She turned back to what she was doing. She looked at the mixed group before her.

The multi-ethnic and multi-national group of magic users were all holding hands. A magical circle, or at least as close to one that could be created in the tight confines of the APC they were seated in.

She took the hand of the man next to her. Iron-Knife's hand was cool and dry. A steady comfort. To her right was Johnny Marsden. Still wired, but the fellow Californian was calmer due to the stakes.

They closed their eyes together and chanted the last phrase of the spell that they created together. Magical energies pulsed their ways from the central essences of the gathered wizards, sourced from the Earth herself, and collected together between them. It stayed there for a split second before pushing out of the mechanical transport and headed towards its destination.

The magical energy folded into itself on its way to its target, three miles. It shaped itself from an amorphous blob into a magical bolt. The bright sunlight glinted off of it, turning it all the colors of the rainbow. It took on the exact nature and makeup that the witch had determined to be the best method to strike against the extremely powerful defensive shield that the Sekhmet empowered Amy Madison had created.

It turned invisible a mile away from striking. Amy never sensed it hit her shield, but did notice the impact. That was before her shield started to glow from the energy that had been absorbed.

She looked up, and then watched as lightning bolts formed on the inside of the magical shell, they all struck her one after another. She had no time to respond.

Strike after strike, her jolted body started to burn from the electricity. Her hair caught on fire. She fell down, starting to lose consciousness. Her last thought was to amp up the power on her shield, drawing more heavily upon her connection to her goddess. Her shield glowed brighter as a a result.

It was a mistake. The lightning bolts intensified, during bright white and hit more frequently. She lost consciousness. But, her body still moved, energized by the lightning.

The salamander was immune to the bolts. The avatar had its own godly nature and was impervious to that particular elemental attack. Of course, with her connection to the Earth realm hindered, she was effectively no more than an odd salamander with six legs. It was distressing, for a being of her nature.

The demon army was none the wiser save the few closest to her.

Sekhmet's avatar crawled on the steaming ground, attempting to figure out her next move. She suspected that it was the force that had sought to defeat her. Its recent countermove just served to infuriate her. Sekhmet's anger at the presumption of the mortals built greater and greater. The unbelievers dared to strike her. But, she could do nothing but think.

She would burn them down and rebuild Paradise from their ashes.

Such was the will of Sekhmet.

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"Control, this is Blazer," Isaiah Bradley communicated over his throat mike. The former Army Ranger looked through his camouflaged scope. He didn't move. As he was within a mile of the designated target zone, he didn't want to be seen. Especially since a recon party had nearly stepped on his hand just fifteen minutes prior. "Westmore is down. Say again, Westmore is done. Shield's flickering."

Blazer continued to watch as Westmore, the designated code name for the first target, convulsed on the snow in front of him.

The first part was done.

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"Confirmed," Lampkin noted. "Argyle, power output?"

"Less than ten percent of nominal strength." Came the response from Linda, situated in another APC on the opposite side of the battle field. Though new, she had learned quickly. Cindy had helped her with it and had chosen her for this position. She took the responsibility seriously. She wouldn't let them down.

It would have been better to use something other than a napalm like weapon. Incendiaries and fire elementals didn't usually mix. Of course, the nature of the weapon and the weaknesses of the demons had narrowed what weapons would be ideal.

Lampkin nodded. He checked the situation on the various monitors. Around him the various controllers and techs monitored the status of the various teams. "Nailer, take your shot."

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"Roger that." Nailer whispered, in his location hidden on the top of a mountain about four miles west of the target.

His spotter calculated the windage and other necessary calculations. At the range the shot would come from, even gravity came into play. It would be a hell of a shot. One for the record books, if it wasn't classified.

The calculations were fed into the electronic scope of the rail gun's scope. The ex-Navy SEAL reviewed them and adjusted his sight slightly. He held the crosshair over the writhing body of the witch and waited for his shot.

His target moved stayed in range, and he squeezed the trigger. He felt the recoil move through his enhanced musculature and skeleton and travel through the ground. He had been able to hold the rifle on target, and his aim had been true.

The two pound projectile exited the parallel rails at over four and a half miles per second. The result was nearly instantaneous.

The tungsten projectile impacted Amy's body at just beneath the clavicle, dead center in her upper chest. The top of her body blew apart, her head gone. She stopped moving, as the magical shield that had just been blasted through cracked and disappeared. The lightning bolts disappeared as well.

Her corpse lay burnt and bleeding in the snow.

"Target's down." Driver stated over his mike. He kept watch as his partner switched over to a conventional rifle. Though it would lack any useful range. It would take too long for them to set up the replacement barrel assembly on the rail gun to make it useable in the battle.

They had done their part.

It was now up to the others.

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"Roger," Lampkin stated. "Eccleston, commence the drop."

Eccleston got down to business as he switched over to the right frequencies and directed the bombing run. The scrolling climatological data that filled the screen on his right let him know exactly where to set them up. "Strike Alpha, proceed with first drop. Engage hostile."

He watched as the icons on his monitor moved in accordance with the attack plan.

"Strike Golf provide cover," The controller continued, moving in the support fighters for his bomber team.

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"Confirmed. Commencing run." Came the responses of the group of pilots in the B-52's as they started their bombing runs. Its support fighters circled around them, ready to attack. Though from the makeup of the enemy below them, it was unnecessary.

The five bombers turned in a circle as one as they opened their bomb bay doors and dropped their loads. The Northick filled gravity bombs found their way to the target and exploded in an ocean of fire in a circle along the outer edge of the central group of demons.

The only thing they had heard was the whistling of the bombs drop before they were engulfed. The dying never had a chance to utter any noise as they were vaporized or burned to death. Some simply were overwhelmed by the heat and shut down from thermal shock. The powdery snow that the hard shelled demons had been marching on turned to steam, filling the area with fog and smoke.

The teams of outriders turned their heads in unison at the sounds of death. They looked at each other and chittered, wondering what to do. There had been no telepathic recall commands sent out. But, the rest of the collective was dying. But, their leader had not called them to act. They chittered at each other some more, trying to figure out what to do.

The Stratofortresses started circling tighter, readying for a second run. They waited for the command.

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"Argyle, Command," Lampkin called over the radio. "Status update?"

He had seen the carnage over the screens. Nothing could have survived the full barrage. Still, there was the center to take out.

"No response from Avatar," Linda called back. Her senses were stretched as far as they could, trying to pick up some activity from the avatar of their. There was no change from when Amy had been killed. "Still alive however."

Which meant it wasn't dead. That was unfortunate. And not strictly according to plan. Which was why they had come up with contingencies.

"Confirmed." Lampkin nodded. "Figueroa, status of the outriders."

"Holding position, sir." The young tech reporter to her commander. "They're agitated, but they're not moving."

Lampkin turned towards Eccleston's expectant look. "Commence secondary."

Eccleston turned back around to his screen. He brought his mike closer to his mouth. "Strike Alpha, commence secondary drop."

Lampkin looked back towards the young female technician serving as a air controller and sensor operator. "Roll in the other Strikes on the outriders."

"Yes, sir." Danielle Figueroa nodded. "Slayer teams, laze targets. Confirm."

The responses from the various watchers were fed back to the controller, and the slayers moved into place.

She waited until the targets were in position. She hit a button for the other channel, and gave further instructions. "Strike Beta proceed on target to Killzone One Alpha. Strike Charlie proceed on target to Killzone Two Alpha. 105 and Hellfire authorized. Engage hostiles on command. Charlie, friendly in the area. Say again, friendly in the area. Use Bofors only, precision strike. Three hundred yard clear zone. Thunderbolts to support only. Strike Delta, provide air cover for Beta. Strike Echo, provide air cover for Charlie. Wait for signal to commence. Confirm orders."

The orders were confirmed back, the extremely methodical mind of the young Air Force sergeant was able to process it quickly. She watched the shapes move on her screen, planes set up in position for their attack runs.

She remembered the call for this fight. The briefing with the young and odd one-eyed man. How he had told them about the existance of demons and vampires and magic. And how their commanding officer had told them to believe it. It had just been days before. But, it didn't matter. She had a job to do. And be it infantry or tanks or demons, she'd do her duty.

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The flights of AC-130U gunships split and flew forward, waiting for their orders to attack. The A-10's waited further out, in support formation. The F-22's that comprised Delta and Echo Strikes followed their respective companions to provide their ordered air cover. Below them the slayers moved into position.

The forward scout teams of slayers had been handpicked from amongst the more than hundred that had come along. Teams only. The Hellions and Swans had taken the northwest. The Amazons the northeast. The Furies and Marauders the southwest. And the Kindred and Vindicators the southeast.

The larger contingents led by watchers had been directed to split up into smaller teams to advance forward and paint the targets. The slayers, with their faster speed and increased stamina, were ideal for this aspect of the mission. Though it wouldn't matter all that much since, unlike Blazer, they didn't have to get so close to the enemy.

Each of the thirty five plus demon groups were lasered as directed. The lead slayer in each sub-team served as forward air controllers, watching the situations clearly to be able to direct the incoming planes.

The slayers called back in with their acknowledgements.

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"Confirmed. Targets painted." Figueroa worked her console. She called in her planes to commence the attacks on the targets. It was like shooting fish in a barrel at this point. "Strikes, engage targets. Clear and then move to next waypoint."

The pilots confirmed their orders and did as they were told.

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The attack planes flew forward, bringing their armaments to bear on the small groups of demons.

"Incoming." Simone said, quietly to the rest of her mixed team. Her short pink hair clung to her forehead. She was sweating, despite the cold air around them. She made sure to keep the laser on target.

Rona nodded, and glanced at the rest of her team. They were spread out on a small outcropping about a half mile away from the demons that they were targeting. In her opinion, they could have taken out the small group of Chython themselves. Of course, as Faith had criticized when she had suggested it, they had the resources, so there was no reason to risk their lives. Given what had happened in Sunnydale, it has a lesson she had taken to heart.

The Spectre gunship fired its load of missiles at the central group of demons. Some of them were able to scatter out of range, but the Spooky's M102 howitzer made quick work of the remainder that had managed to get away from the load of Hellfire missiles.

The 105 mm shells blasted the demons apart like they were nothing. The Cython stood no chance. One or two fired up in the air futilely at the advancing airplanes, but to no avail. They would never be able to hit targets in the air. Especially after they were blasted apart by the descending gunfire and explosives.

One of the two A-10 Thunderbolt II's took the left side. Its nose mounted GAU-8/A gatling gun spat 30 mm rounds which chewed through the fleeing demons. The hard shells cracked and exploded as the rounds ate their way into the softer insides. Demons corpses covered the field as small pits and craters were formed from the oncoming fire.

The second A-10 took the right, closest to the hidden slayers as it made its pass. Its weapons fire took out all but three of the demons. The only ones of the demonic recon team left alive after the air strike.

A strong leap each from the three let them jump right into the rocky hillside that hid the slayers.

"Shit." Rona raised her weapon as the demons fell towards them. She managed to shoot one in the head as it came towards her, 5.56 mm armor piercing rounds turned it into a corpse before it hit the ground.

She turned to look for more targets. The slayer leader saw one of the Cython advance on Simone, who had dropped the laser designator and had gone for her sidearm.

Rona tried to draw a bead on the insectoid like demon, but couldn't get a clear shot. She saw the demon raise its arm as she ran forward. She impacted against the other slayer, dragging her out of the line of fire, as she fired a snap shot from her gun.

Luckily, the burst of rifle fire hit true and blasted the demon off of its feet onto the ground. Unluckily for the slayer, the demon had managed to fire its own ranged weapon as well. A swarm of darts had shot out, most of them impacted against the armor of the two slayers. One hit Rona in the unarmored arm. Another ripped across her neck, tearing open a deep wound.

Rona fell to the ground, blood spurting from her neck. She lay on her back, looking up at the bright sunlight. It felt like she was beneath a load of heavy blankets. She could barely move her limbs.

The remaining slayers finished up with the remaining demon and turned towards their sisters. They instantly went to their now fallen leader.

"Damn it." Jenna grit her teeth. She carefully checked Rona's neck wound. Heavy blood dripped from it thickly. Some spurted onto her white jacket, staining it. She applied pressure to the wound.

"One got through." Kelli of the Kindred, had ripped open Rona's jacket and shirt sleeve to the elbow. The dart was stuck deep into Rona's forearm. She made sure that it was in a less than dangerous position and gripped it in her gloved hands. "Hold her down."

Jenna sprayed the neck with a mix of drugs and neutralizers and wrapped a field dressing around their leader's neck. The only lucky shot was that it hadn't torn completely through her carotid artery. Still, she would die if left untreated.

Jenna and Simone held the black slayer down as Kelli ripped the dart out of her arm. Kelli tossed it aside and sprayed a drug cocktail onto the open wound. A field dressing was applied there as well.

"I'm not going to make it, am I," Rona coughed out. Her arm burned, and her neck stung like hell. "The black one always dies first."

"Not today, damn it." Jenna grunted out. She looked up. "Simone, call for a medic."

As Simone called in the situation, Jenna pulled two autoinjectors from a pocket on her web gear. She set one on the ground beside her and held up the other. She twisted the top half of it, causing a small needle to come out the end. She found a vein on the dying slayer's arm and injected the atropine straight into her bloodstream.

Jenna picked up the other autoinjector and twisted that as well. Another needle shot out, and she moved to inject that into the undamaged side of Rona's neck above the dressing.

"No…" Rona struggled to get out. She knew what it was. The untested drug, with the chance of making her into a werewolf. Not exactly something she wanted to have happen.

"Stop that. Hold still." Jenna batted away Rona's feeble attempts to stop her. "You're not dying here. Better a wolf than dead. Now hold still, damn it. Everyone's going home this time."

Rona eventually gave in, and let Jenna inject the drug cocktail into her neck. The effect wasn't exactly instantaneous, but she could feel a burning sensation travel through her body. It licked at her nervous system. It felt like her whole being was on fire. She shook, then was still. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her eyelids shut.

Jenna touched her neck, checking her pulse. It was thready and slow, but there.

The slayer was only unconscious. For the time being.

"She going to be okay?" Simone asked, as she looked at the team leader.

Jenna wiped a hand over her forehead. She looked at the other slayer. "I don't know."

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Xander clenched his jaw as he heard the call for a medic come in. For one single agonizing moment, he was glad that it had come from that section as opposed to the northwest sector.

Still, he couldn't worry about that right now. He turned his attention to the continued incendiary strikes. So far, they had gone as planned.

More and more demons died. Some tried to flee, but the Raptors and Warthogs that were flying cover for the Stratofortresses took them down hard.

Still, the avatar appeared to still be alive, somewhat surprisingly. Probably figuring out what to do now.

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The avatar of Sekhmet came to a decision. She crawled towards the dead corpse of her last disciple. Crawling inside through the gaping hole in the upper torso, Sekhmet drew in her remaining power and sent it through the body. She could feel it heal as she merged with the body. It would vastly deplete her powers, but without it, she wouldn't be able to do much of anything. She had an army to command after all.

Minutes passed as the body healed, regaining its once attractive form. This time, with someone else in the driver's seat.

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Xander watched as Lampkin continued to direct the operation.

"Argyle, status on Avatar," Lampkin spoke into his mike.

"We're getting a spike," The response came back from Linda. She drew from all of her accumulated knowledge. Stuff from books that Willow and the others hadn't taught her about. Some stuff from practical experience. "Looks like Avatar's trying to pull a resurrection. Create a new body on this plane to interact with.

Lampkin nodded. He didn't panic, but he knew that they didn't have much time. The target was heavily weakened, and in a vulnerable state. That wouldn't necessarily last for long. "Confirmed. Keep us appraised."

He turned to watch the screens. The demons had mostly been destroyed. Only a few were left to mop up. Some sectors had already been completely cleared. He triggered his comm. "Blazer. Do you have range on Avatar?"

"Yes, sir," the quiet response came back.

"Paint it." Lampkin commanded, waiting until Sekhmet was lit up on their screens. He checked the position of the planes flying over the battlefield.

He looked towards Eccleston. "Have Strato-Three-Four switch to Brimstone. I want this ended. Figueroa, divert any of the finished Strikes to mop up."

Eccleston nodded. He checked the status of his planes. "Strato-Three-Four, switch to Brimestone. Final drop on target. Killzone Zero Alpha center. Near friendly; so must be precise. Engage once lock is achieved."

"Strike Charlie converge on Killzone Zero Alpha." Figueroa commanded her own flights. "Wait for air strike, then mop up."

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Xander watched the monitor as the avatar of Sekhmet, now in the mostly healed body of Amy Madison, was wiped out of existence in an explosion of flame and debris.

From the looks of it, there wasn't anything left that would fill any sort of box. Coffin nor matchbook. Nothing but ash.

There would likely be a containment team sent in for detailed analysis, but for now, it seemed like it was over.

Linda called in the confirmation. Cindy and her team of wizards confirmed that as well. Xander acknowledged it, but didn't really pay attention to it. All he knew, was the one of his own was down, and may not make it back.

He didn't react to it though. He had brought them in, but they knew the risks.

Such was the nature of command.

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"How is she?" Xander asked Simone as he walked up to the slayer. She was seated on a hard bench outside of the field hospital. Many other slayers were there as well, some standing and some seated. Vi among them, though he didn't look for her yet. They had managed to get Rona back in time. She had lost a lot of blood, but Wesker's formula had stabilized her until she could get worked on by the surgeons.

A few others had been injured, but none so badly. Still, in comparison to past large scale slayer battles, or the wars that the normal people fought, they had been damn lucky.

Simone looked up at him, eyes red. She stood up. "She's probably going to make it. But…"

"But?" Xander asked, inwardly dreading the response. He didn't show it though. It was disconnected from his mind. Only his heart was aching because of it.

While he had criticized Rona's actions before, it didn't mean he didn't like her. Though he did hardly know here as more than one of Vi's friends. Her past failures were a testament to poor training as opposed to character flaws. She could be headstrong, but then so could a lot of them.

Still, she wouldn't have commanded a team if she wasn't worthy.

She was a slayer. She was a hero. She deserved to live. It wasn't fair. But, then again, life seldom was.

Such was the existance of the slayer. All things considered, things went well. For those at the top, and those at the bottom. Better than the Stand at least. Better than the number of slayers that hadn't walked out of the pit.

Small comfort for the moment however.

"Cindy says that she's been infected." Simone shook her head. She leaned into him. "She's going to be a werewolf."

Xander didn't say anything as Simone embraced him, head buried in his neck. He hugged her back, not sure what else to do. "It's not so bad. I knew a werewolf. He made it through okay. Three days a month's not so bad. Hey, no patrols. In my experience, PMS is worse. It's not the end of the world."

Simone let go and looked in his eye. She noted his stoic expression, though knew that it didn't mean he didn't feel anything about what had happened.

She nodded, comforted by his presence more than his words. Though they did help, having had the weight of experience and authority.

Faith looked over at the two of them. She had been commanding the backup teams, some slayers, some from their international allies, bunkered down to make sure that any of the demons that had gotten through would have a hard fight to get to the crystal. It had been completely unnecessary.

Xander caught her eye and nodded. She returned the favor.

The operation had been deemed a complete success. He remembered the post mission briefing. No fatalities. No real casualties. Though to say that nobody got hurt was an understatement.

Still, being a werewolf was better than being dead. Oz had coped with it, somewhat. Rona was strong; it was something she could deal with.

It was the end. Nobody died. Rona would make it through mostly intact. She may even like some of the enhancements that she would get from being a werewolf and a slayer.

Still, one of his own had gotten injured. That didn't sit well with him, even though it wasn't like it had never happened before.

It never got easier seeing it. Even though he could ignore it when he had to send young women into harm's way. As he would have to do in the future, if Richard's concerns about his own home dimension came to pass.

He still saw them as people, even if he used them as pawns.

He hoped.


	66. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Frequent Flyer Miles**

Xander walked out of the cockpit to the large converted cargo plane that was transporting the rest of the personnel back to the East Coast. He looked down the aisle at the bolted down seats that filled much of the cargo area of the plane. Most of the equipment that had been taken to Alaska would take longer than the week or so that they had stayed there after the fight to take apart and bring back. The rest of it was on other planes that had been sent or would be sent back to New York.

Xander watched them all. Slayers. Some watchers. His own team, and some of the newly recruited army personnel that they had decided to keep on a permanent basis. Most of the people had already gone back, only a few left to debrief and tie up loose ends.

There was a mixture of emotions running throughout. Obvious joy and happiness. They had just saved the world after all. But, underneath there was uncertainty. For the world had changed for all of them.

A government agency in the fight that would bring the full weight and power of its country's military to bear on any threat that would seek to do harm to the United States. There was an offer of alliance to the Council members that had come along. With a less than subtle threat attached to it. For the military personnel that had been co-opted for the op, it was an eye opening moment that revealed part of the real truth of the world. It would call into question nearly everything that they had been taught. But, it ultimately changed nothing. They had all sworn oaths to defend the country. And be it from humans or demons, they would do their promised duty. To do anything less was unacceptable.

Xander noted that a few of them seemed less than ecstatic about the recent events. Likely because they had been personally affected by them. Even if they hadn't taken a direct part in what had happened.

He started down the aisle and took one of the empty seats near one of the slayers near the front of the zone that had been retrofitted to carry passengers. She was looking out a narrow window, seemingly lost in thought.

"Replaying things, huh?" Xander said, as he sat down.

Rona jumped a bit, surprised by the intrusion. Surprised that her slayer and now other superhuman senses hadn't picked up on him. Maybe it was too much. Everything seemed louder and brighter. Too much to absorb. Hopefully, she'd be able to get a handle on it. The slayer turned to look at Xander. "Yeah."

"I wouldn't spend too much time second guessing yourself," Xander continued. "I read the after action reports. You did good. Got all your people out safe."

The slayer rubbed the aching wound on her neck. It had mostly healed. A mix of slayer healing, the good doctor's miracle drug, and the lycanthropy that was now coursing through her veins. "Not exactly safe."

"Hey," Xander said, softly. "Look at me."

Rona turned to look at him.

He looked her in the eyes, making sure she was doing the same to him, if only by half. "You commanded them well, and you got them out safe. It doesn't always go perfectly, but this time went well enough."

"They could have-" Rona started.

"Could have. Should have," Xander broke in. "It don't matter. You can't control everything. You wanted the rank, it comes with added risk. Is this what you wanted to do?"

"Yeah," Rona said, after a moment's thought. She had asked to try her hand at leading a team. And, despite recent events, it was still what she wanted.

"Then alright." Xander stood up. He leaned down and put a hand on her arm. "This'll stay with you for a while. But, I wouldn't dwell on it too much. You completed your objective, and you got your girls out safe. You did it right."

Rona nodded and watched him go.

Xander made his way down the aisle to where his team was sitting together. He took an empty aisle seat.

"Everything going okay?" Xander asked, as they turned to look at him.

The group nodded in response.

"Good." Xander, replied. He looked at them all. They had all contributed to the last fight, in their own way. Though the last number of months had been an obvious struggle. They had found themselves separated and stretched. It had felt unnatural, though they had been together for a rather short time. Still, in this war, even a month could be a lifetime. For too many it was. "I'm glad we're all back together. Let's just hope that next time, is less, trying."

"Hope springs eternal, Xander." Paul said.

Abby and Cindy just nodded.

"How're things with them?" Curtis asked, not needing to explain the subject of his question.

"As well as can be expected." Xander looked behind him towards the people in the back. His view gazed over the slayers talking excitedly to each. Passed over them, briefly focusing on a young pale red-headed woman giggling with a Japanese slayer. He moved on and settled on a pretty brunette with long hair sitting near the back, looking down, and a little lost. "They know what they can speak about, and what they can't. Lampkin bludgeoned that into their heads pretty damn well."

"Good," Curtis stated. He took the need for secrecy seriously. He wouldn't have liked it if they had to go and start silencing people because someone couldn't keep his or her mouth shut.

"So ye think we'll get a vacation out of this?" Jack leaned back in his seat. He hadn't done much in Alaska, but he had contributed just as much as the rest during their latest campaign. From Cleveland to New York to Cleveland, he had done as ordered. Carried out his job, to the letter. Even if technically illegal or immoral. He deserved a break as much as they all did.

"Yup." Xander grinned at the man. "After everything's put back together, and we all get the long debrief, you get two weeks of downtime."

Jack grinned back.

"And you?" Curtis put in, noticing the pronoun shift. "You taking any time off. You deserve it as much as anyone."

Xander didn't say anything. As little as a few months ago he wouldn't have considered it. He would have just kept on going.

He glanced behind him.

Xander turned and looked at his team, his family. "I might stick around for a little bit. I got stuff to pack up after all. And a couple of other things to handle. But, I'll probably take a few days."

Cindy took the earbuds out of her ears and switched off her iPod. She put a hand on his arm. "You can't keep going back there, hoping things are going to be different."

"I know," Xander said. He wanted to say more, but couldn't. "No nice shiny red reset button for any of us."

"There never really is," The witch replied, giving his hand a squeeze. She looked back to what he was leaving behind, not necessarily the people, but what they represented.

"I think there's someone over there that needs you right now?" Cindy nodded towards a young woman at the back of the plane.

The government man turned around and looked back. Dawn sat by herself in a long row of seats, no real emotion on her face. Or rather, a conflicted mixture of them. He stayed on her for a moment.

Xander leaned forwards again and turned to Jack, noticing the bump in his coat pocket. "Gimme your flask."

"What?" The Irishman asked. He put a hand over his right pocket.

"Your flask. Let me have it." Xander asked again. He held out his hand until Jack placed his hip flask into it. It was silver with an embossed cross on the front, and from the weight of it, still completely full.

"That's Bruichladdich. Easy with it." Jack handed it over, somewhat begrudgingly. He had just filled it that morning. And the twenty five hundred dollar a bottle of Islay whiskey wasn't easy to find.

Xander stood up. He looked at the heavy metal flask in his hand and chuckled. "Nice to see where your salary's going."

"It's not that much of a stereotype," Jack grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Relax, I'll buy you a drink next time we hit that pub you like," Xander reassured the man. He smirked. "Something, expensive. I know they got a bottle of Glen Garioch behind the counter that they didn't let you know about."

Jack said as Xander left, heading towards the back of the plane.

Xabder had to steady himself on one of the aisle seats as the plane hit a batch of turbulence.

He took a seat in Dawn's row, the flask still in hand. "Doing okay?"

Dawn looked at him. She shook her head slightly, her neck length brown hair waving back and forth. "It's been a week, and I'm still getting over it. And, I was just stuck in that room the whole time. That was crazy enough. How do you deal with it?"

Xander shrugged. "Take away the toys and the technobabble, and it's not that much different from what we faced every year or so for the last eight years."

"Still, the number of people…" Dawn shook her head again. "It's so much. And those explosions. Even on the screens…"

"I know. It takes some getting used to." Xander thought back on his own experiences. And, the dreams. Luckily they had stopped before he had left Africa for good. Of course, he hadn't told his therapist about them coming or going. She would have used it against him, one way or another. For him, it had been much more of jarring of a transition to active field work. He'd handled well enough in his opinion. Of course, for Dawn, the only one that mattered was how she could handle it. He held out the flask. "Here, take a shot."

Dawn looked at the offered drink and then at him again. She smiled wryly. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Not in every state." Xander shrugged, and uncapped it. "Besides, I figure we can give it a pass for saving the freakin' world. Trust me, it'll help."

Dawn took it and tipped it into her mouth. Not that much though since she wasn't exactly sure what was in it. She swallowed the shot of whiskey, feeling it burn down her throat. She coughed loudly.

Xander chuckled as he took the flask back from the young woman. "That'll put hair on your chest."

Dawn just glared back at him.

She croaked out, "Like I really want that to happen."

"Feel better?" Xander asked. He took his own swig, letting the heat flow down his throat. It was good stuff. Of course, given Jack's taste in liquor and the obvious cost, it was guaranteed. He capped the flask.

Dawn nodded hesitantly. Oddly enough, she actually did. Or maybe it was the warmth that was now in her belly.

"Good. I saw you in there." Xander lay the flask on the seat next to him. It was a long row of seats and Dawn had been the only one there. Not even anyone in the next row up. Rather unlike the usually friendly girl. "You picked everything up, and I could tell that you could understand what was happening. That kind of multitasking and ability to see the whole event is useful. You'll be good at that. Once you get caught up on the book learning."

Dawn nodded. "It was you wasn't it?"

"What?" Xander asked, confused with the new line of thought.

"Our stuff? Back in Rome?" Dawn continued. "You brought all our stuff to Cleveland. Buffy thought it was some of the Immortal's people or Giles or something. Kind of dumb, but I guess she didn't think it would have been you."

Xander looked at her. "Yeah. I know you lost most of your belongings in Sunnydale, but I knew you still had some stuff. Like pictures of your mom. I didn't want you two to lose those."

Dawn looked at him and put a hand on his leg. "Thank you."

Xander smiled and put a hand on hers. He squeezed lightly.

"How about another drink?" Dawn asked, as innocently as she could. Not really to have more, since she didn't like the taste, though the forbidden nature did add to it, but mainly to see if Xander would actually let her have another hit.

Xander shook his head, still smiling. "When you're twenty one. Or the world almost ends again."

"So next year then?" Dawn quipped.

Xander nodded. "Just about."

Dawn looked ahead at the other people in the plane.

"You're not alone." Xander looked at her. "Most of them are in the same boat you are. New to it, though they have relevant experience. Don't worry. It'll come."

The watcher in training, official or not, just nodded.

Xander just sat there. He squeezed her hand again.

"I think you should get up there." Dawn said, after a minute. She had caught Vi looking at them. Obvious in her desire to get Xander to sit with her. With just a hint of warning to keep a careful distance away from what was obviously hers. Of course, it was hardly necessary. The vivacious redhead had already made it perfectly clear to those that had or might have expressed an interest in the young rogue that had recently come back into their lives. Of course, Xander couldn't tell. And if he had been aware, he would have wondered why she would go through the trouble on his account. "Vi wants to see you."

Xander picked up the flask and stood up. He made to leave.

"Thanks." Dawn called after him.

He stopped for a moment. "It's what I do."

Xander kept walking, stopping to let Satsu get out of the row that Vi was sitting in. He tossed the flask back to Jack, lifting his head in thanks.

He sat down, and scooted over to the middle seat in the three seat row. Vi had the window seat, though she moved onto his lap as soon he settled into the middle seat. It was a tight fit for her to straddle him, but it just meant that they were pressed together.

A situation neither was uncomfortable with.

"How is everything?" Xander asked, the weight comfortable in his lap.

Vi moved in, pressing her lips against his. She pulled back after a minute. "Better now."

Xander smirked. His hand went to her waist, and then to tops of her thighs. "You know, we are technically in public."

Vi pouted. "No fun."

"Maybe I just don't want to share you with anybody else." Xander leaned in and kissed her again. He grew bolder. Maybe it was the whiskey. "After the next semester, do you want to move in with me? If you can find a school to transfer to I mean. If you want to. I mean."

Vi looked at him in shock. She hadn't expected that.

"I guess maybe I should have waited until we were in private." Xander chuckled, nervously.

The redheaded slayer moved in again. "I'd love to. But, you have got to get a better place than the hole you have in New York."

"Great. You haven't moved in yet, and already you're rearranging things." Xander sighed, in jest.

Vi tickled him in the sides, noticing that while he tensed his abdominal muscles, he didn't show it on his face.

"My mother wants you to come for Thanksgiving," Vi said, looking at him seriously. "It's a couple of months still, but I thought I should ask you now."

Xander cocked his head, wondering what the purpose of the invitation was. It wasn't like he was particularly involved. At least, per his cover story. "Why? Isn't that more of a family affair."

"She knows," Vi replied, simply.

Xander paled at that. "Uh, need I ask how your father is taking an older man shacking up with his only daughter? A man in a position of authority in regards to said daughter. I imagine he's already sharpened an axe."

"Well, at first he wanted to beat you to death and bury you in the yard, but my mom convinced him not to try it." Vi smirked at his reaction. "Relax. It'll be okay. My mother absolutely adores you. And, Mark thinks you're the coolest."

"How'd she figure it out?" Xander asked.

"Well, I kept them up to date with what I could," the slayer explained. "And, they naturally had questions about you. I guess she could just tell how I felt when I talked about you."

"She did seem the observant sort," Xander muttered.

"She asked me straight a while back during one of our calls." Vi continued, referring to the weekly and sometimes more than weekly phone calls she made to her biological family. Though separated by time and distance, she still wanted a close relationship with them.

She hesitated for a moment. "I told her. I mean, she's my mom. I couldn't just lie to her about something like that."

"I know." Xander embraced her again, rubbing her back. "It's okay. I understand. And, I'll see about getting authorization to fill them in on the whole truth. I know you didn't exactly feel right about that."

"Thanks Xander," came Vi's muffled response. It emanated from Vi's face pressed against her boyfriend's neck.

"So, I was thinking." Xander said, as Vi let go and looked at him again. "You get a couple of weeks off in December, right?"

Vi nodded.

"I figure you'll want to spend Christmas with your folks, so I was thinking, the week before…" Xander stopped and smiled.

"Out with it." Vi pouted, urging him to continue. She was clearly excited.

"Paris." Xander smiled. "You, me, Paris in winter. Uh, that's France, not Texas."

Vi giggled and nodded. Evidently having a boyfriend that was now as well-traveled as the next secret agent had its benefits.

She frowned after a moment. "This isn't really like you."

"What do you mean?" Xander asked.

"A vacation in Europe?" Vi explained. She leaned back to take in his appearance. "That doesn't seem your style."

"I can't be that high school geek forever. Or some wage slave or laborer for the rest of my life," Xander explained. Though he did have the utmost respect for those that worked with their hands. He may have been part of management, but he always respected the union. "Besides, I figure, that since I've got the cash, might as well spread it around some. Give you a taste of the finer things. What you deserve."

"You know you don't have to." Vi chided him. "I'm not some gold digger only after you for your money."

"I know. Besides, I figure I'm the lucky one in this thing." Xander grinned.

The comment did tug at Vi's heart though. "Still, you seem really different now. Much better than last year. When you used to call me."

"You know, Cindy's said the same thing to me," Xander added, thinking about the conversation from not too long ago.

Vi leaned in close again, enjoying his presence. "I think I like it. More than the broody you."

"Maybe it was all an act." Xander tried to smiled, but found he couldn't bring himself to.

"No it wasn't," Vi contradicted. "And I know you still have it in you, but I'm glad that it didn't end up consuming you."

Xander hugged her tight. "Thanks to you."

"You're a better man than you know, Xander." Vi said, leaning back. She tried to shake off the melancholy though. "C'mon, tell me about this trip."

Xander grinned. Though inwardly, he knew that he had to disagree.

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"You don't have to be the one that does this you know." Curtis looked through the one way mirror at the man in the next room. "Hell, you don't even have to be here. I'm surprised Grainer let it happen."

"I managed to talk Dr. Farmiga into letting me be the one." Xander said, looking through the same glass. "This isn't the military. Or the FBI. No rules about this sort of thing in here."

"Really? Dr. Farmiga signed off on it?" Curtis looked at his partner. "It must have taken some doing."

"I can be plenty convincing when I need to be." Xander said, still looking through the one-way mirror at the man shackled down to the one chair in the room. Though he knew that part of the reason she had okayed it was to keep him in the same sociopathic state as he had been when he had joined up. "Best get to it, then."

Xander walked towards the exit.

"You don't got to do this." Curtis called after him.

Xander stopped, the door midway open. "Yeah, yeah I do. It's the least of what he deserves."

He walked out, closing the door behind him. He walked forward a few feet, stopping in front of the sentries. They cleared him and opened the door.

One of the heavily armed men made to follow, but Xander shook his head. If this was what it came down to, he wanted to do it alone. Or at least, as alone as they would let him. It was something of the dignity he deserved.

He walked into the room. The man strapped down to the chair tried to turn his head to look at who it was, but it wouldn't let him.

Xander walked around in front of the chair, back towards the large mirror along the wall. He stuck a hand in his pocket. "How's it going Jesse?"

Jesse tried to raise his arms, not really testing the bindings, but more to convey a point. He grinned, though it didn't meet his eyes. "Can't complain, I guess. You?"

"It's over," Xander stated. He walked closer and knelt down, looking up at his old friend. "Sekhmet's destroyed. It's been confirmed. She pulled all her energy into staying in this realm, and we destroyed her avatar. Nothing to pull back, her energy just snapped and dissolved."

Jesse clenched his jaw. "You're lying."

"No." Xander shook his head. "Everything's been destroyed, everyone involved is dead. Except for you. You're the last loose end to tie up on this thing."

"So what now?" Jesse asked, the bindings cut into his face. It was something of a struggle to even speak. "You going to send me to prison for the rest of my life? Gitmo without trial?"

Xander looked down. "Not exactly. Religious terrorists, of your ilk, despite your help to us, the rules are different."

"An execution." Jesse spat out. "You're going to kill me. After I helped you."

"Yeah." Xander stood up again. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, revealing a syringe. He pulled off the safety cap and put it in his pocket. "Don't look at me like that. We both haven't forgotten what you've done. Even if you did think it was for legitimate reasons."

"It's going to be you then?" Jesse said, staring at the needle. "C'mon you're joking right? This isn't funny."

"No. It's really not." Xander took a breath. "Who'd have thought. After all these years. That it'd come down to this."

"You think you can do this to me?" Jesse chuckled once, not really believing it yet.

"Yeah." Xander sighed. "I did it before remember? This time, it won't be an accident."

"No. Man, c'mon. I helped you," Jesse said, gritting his teeth. "There's got to be some other way. Send me back to prison. Without her, there's no way I'm getting out."

"Not the way it works, man." Xander took a step closer. "I'm sorry. I don't make the rules."

"No, you just enforce them." Jesse looked up at his friend. It obviously tore at him. And that was as heartbreaking as what he was going to go through. He stared at the needle. The clear liquid inside shone as light glinted off of its glass enclosure. "Is…is it going to hurt?"

Xander looked at the needle in his hand. "No. It's not going to hurt."

"This is how it's going to go then." Jesse closed his eyes for a moment. He sniffed once. Then opened his eyes again. "That's it? That's all I get?"

"Pretty much." Xander moved closer and gripped Jesse's arm with his left hand. He squeezed it hard a few times, making a vein pop up.

He bent down and slipped the sharp needle carefully into his old friend's arm. "Any last words?"

Jesse turned his head as much as possible and looked at his friend. To his credit, Xander looked back and held it. "For what's it worth, I'm glad it's you."

"Don't be," Xander whispered, as he injected the poison.

The effect was fast, though hardly quick enough for the both of them.

Jesse's body clenched and Xander gripped his hand as the former vampire and human went through his death throes.

Xander felt the strength ebb from his friend's hand. His life going, and then gone.

He stood up and put the safety cap back on the syringe and placed it back into his pocket. He looked at the corpse before him, then bent forward to check. He turned and walked out the door without saying anything. A sentry went in as soon as he had gotten out of the room.

Curtis was waiting for him after he had left the room, handing the spent needle to one of the remaining guards.

"Xander," Curtis began, walking quickly to catch up to his team leader. "If you want to talk about it..."

"It's always someone's friend. Or brother. Or father." Xander didn't look at the man next to him. "I'll be fine."

"No, you won't. I know you better than that." Curtis stopped, and pushed him into the wall. "You can't keep closing off like this."

"It's my responsibility. I can handle it." Xander stared back at him. "Whatever you think that I feel about the death of a man that caused countless deaths, it won't affect how I do my job. It's not your concern. I can handle it."

"I know you can." Curtis let go. "But, it doesn't mean you should. Or that you need to do it alone."

"This is what I do." Xander looked down the hall to his left. "It's over. We won, and I don't have to look over my shoulder wondering if he's going to come after me and mine. No loose ends. It's better this way."

"You just executed one of your oldest friends." Curtis pointed back to the room Xander had just left. "You telling me you don't feel anything at all?"

"Right. I don't feel anything at all," Xander said, not looking towards where his partner was pointing towards.

"And it's that easy for you?" Curtis asked. He'd had the profiling courses. Amongst other FBI training. From working with Xander for that long, he had some idea of his character. And the scary amounts of what he could take. And do. Still, that didn't make him not human. "That's bullshit. And you fucking know it."

"Yeah," Xander admitted, somewhat surprised that Curtis had swore. "But, that never stopped me before. He deserved to die. And he deserved it to be someone that cared about him. And, he did help us you know. In the end, it was the least I could do."

"It doesn't always have to be about how other people feel, Xander." Curtis said, sadly. "You deserve some happiness too."

"I'm plenty happy." Xander tried to smile, but didn't quite manage it. "There is good in my life."

"I know," Curtis replied. "But, it doesn't mean you got to keep doing things like this. You don't have to be that guy anymore."

"It was the one thing I was ever really good at that mattered to anyone at all," Xander stated, shaking his head.

"That's not true, and you know it," Curtis disagreed. "You are my friend. And, you are the friend and loved one to a good many people out there, and that has nothing to do with what we do. And, you know it. So stop being such a dour bastard."

"Yeah." Xander looked back down the hall. Towards the room. Knowing what lay inside.

Curtis hesitated for a moment. "You never did tell me why you came back. Why you stopped."

"Ask me again sometime. Maybe I'll even tell you," Xander said, quietly. He turned towards his second in command. "We still got your family picnic to go to tomorrow right? We should get going to the airport."

Curtis nodded. Knowing that he wouldn't get anything out of him for the moment. He checked his watch. "Yeah, you're right. Wouldn't want to miss the flight. The others are probably already on their way to the airport."

Xander started down the hall again.

"You going to be okay?" Curtis asked, as he caught up again. He was worried, but he would have been more worried had Xander not expressed any emotions about what had just happened at all.

Xander kept walking. He turned his head though. And smiled. A real one this time. "Yeah. I guess I am."

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Ray looked at the printout in front of him. He grabbed a magnifying lens from a container on his desk and held it closer. He angled it over the area that portrayed a young man at the scene.

"What is it?" Alex walked up and set the two lattes on a clean area on the messy desk. She yawned, the hours were getting to her. It was extremely late, or rather early, and there was nobody else at the office. In fact, she was supposed to be there, in about four hours. "Find something?"

"Check this out." Ray said, passing over the picture and glass. "Does this look like an eyepatch to you?"

Alex leaned down and looked through the offered lens. It was a horribly grainy shot that had been blown up a few times. Likely photocopied as well. She could barely make out any details at all. "I guess. What's this from anyways?"

"Africa. Benin to be exact." Ray said, he leaned over and pulled out one of the coffees from the cardboard travel holder. He took a sip and grimaced. Nobody drank just regular coffee anymore. "A friend of a friend managed to get me some of the old surveillance photos from a police investigation."

"Any reason why?" Alex shook her head and put down the lens. She picked up the other coffee and took a sip. "I thought you said he wasn't in Africa anymore."

"At the moment no," Ray replied. He took another sip. "However, I figure that he started in Africa. If he was just starting out, he may have been less, good, at covering his tracks back then. I cross-referenced all reports and rumors of his actions with any investigations that were carried out, official or otherwise. Looks like we got a hit."

"You can't even tell what he really looks like though," Alex criticized, pointing at the picture.

"That's true." Ray admitted. "But, we're closer. There's some useful information we can get. Like build and height. It's something at least."

"That is true," Alex replied. She lay down her latte on the desk. "So what do we do now?"

"Go to where he's been." Ray grinned. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to the young reporter. "Hit the streets, see if anyone knows what's up."

Alex opened the yellow enveloped and shook out the contents into her hand, examining them. "Two tickets?"

"To paradise," Ray sang. He frowned when the young report just looked at him blankly. "Eddie Money?"

Alex just shook her head.

"Kids these days." Ray sighed. "Anyway, I've been combing the message boards. You know, the ones for gun nuts and paranoid conspiracy types. Real X-files and New World Order guys. Crazy shit."

"Okay." Alex refrained from rolling her eyes. As well as telling him that he was one to talk. "And this leads you to Arizona because?"

"Apparently, there's something there to see." Ray grinned. "Some forum for, get this, the Demons, Demons, Demons! database, had a topic about something that happened in Arizona a couple months ago. Rumor has it that our wayward friend was involved."

He stopped and looked at the young woman who was staring at him now. "What, I can use computers. I'm not that old."

"Okay, Ray." Alex grinned. "Whatever you say."

"Damn straight." He grumbled. "So, next stop, Arizona. Pack your bags."

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"Sir." The young watcher ran to catch up with his superior. He ran as distinguishedly as he could after his leader. "Sir. I have the latest report."

The well-dressed man turned and looked at the young man that had ran after him. It was nearly late in the afternoon and he had an appointment for tea with a potential sponsor. An appointment he didn't want to be late for. He stopped in front of one of the large windows and looked out on the grounds of the estate. "Well, out with it, young man."

"She's ready, sir." Gary Wilkinson said, coming to a stop. His tie was hanging loosely from his shirt, though he straightened it in front of his superior. It didn't really help that much. He still looked very much like the messy geek that he had been. Pulled up from the archives section, he had little practical experience. Still, he was useful, in his own way. At least, when it came to couriering messages and looking things up in old dusty texts. "I talked to the mages, and they say that, well, that she's ready. Sir."

"Very good." The man turned around, hiding his disgust at the younger man. With the destruction of the Council it was so hard to find good help. Most of the potential candidates had been taken in by the disgustingly named, New Watchers's Council. As if a disgraced watcher and a disgraced renegade slayer were deserving enough to call their organization by that name. It was enough to turn his stomach. "You may go."

"Yes, sir," The young Wilkinson replied, grateful that he hadn't been reprimanded. "Thank you, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce."

Roger started walking again, heading towards his car. After the disaster involving his son and Wolfram and Hart, he had started taking a more active role in rebuilding the true Watchers' Council. It was a small boon that he had not gone down himself and instead a magicked cyborg and been sent in his stead. Still, if he had been there he was sure that things could have gone as planned.

Alas, that was not to be.

All he could do was work. And, prepare.

End Part One

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Xander Harris will return in...Mind Game


End file.
